Sher Malang
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Denialistanis are all around us, they look, walk and talk like us. Most have a green passport and quite a few have maroon and blue ones as well. But what sets denialistanis apart from the rest is the way in which they process bad news; Muslims can never be culprits and thus the infidel is at fault. From suicide bombing to floods, Jews/Hindus/Christians must be behind all such incidents, since they are out to destroy Muslims.
Who can forget the alleged absence of 3000 Jews from the World Trade Centre that implicated Mossad and not Al-Qaeda for 9/11? Or the RAW conspiracy to malign Pakistani cricketers? Not to forget Ajmal Kasabs saffron wristband which certified him as a RAW agent?
As things stand, Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for 9/11; and our cricketers were conclusively found to be guilty. But despite these jolts of reality, what still remains is the quest for more denials in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Denialistanis, it seems, view the world through a special prism; one that shows everything as a struggle between a feeble Muslim David and a towering infidel Goliath. The eventual victory of David is foreseen to be the proof of being on Gods side.
If one is to look for a prototype of a Muslim David, need not look beyond the Taliban ragtag, religious and ready for war. For many cheering them on becomes a religious obligation of sorts. And we Pakistanis did that cheerleading very effectively. At a time when Afghan Malalas were being oppressed and killed, and Afghan Bilours executed in football stadiums, the Taliban were our boys.
But things changed when, from being the official cheerleaders for Afghanistans Taliban, we became victims of our own Pakistani Taliban. Ideally the infidel Goliath should have been blamed, but instead the villain turned out to be our own beloved Muslim David.
So how does one explain that?
Accepting jihadis as our enemies, poses substantial costs for some. Because at stake is the narrative that fuels Friday sermons, shapes our school curricula and forestalls any cuts in our military spending. Any exceptions to this will simply rob many people of their raison detre. Therefore there is no other option but to twist the obvious and defend the narrative.
Consider the aftermath of the Malala incident; first came the regular who did it? The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) proudly replied with a we did! This was responded with; Who are the Taliban?; How can one be sure that the TTP exists?; It must be Blackwater.
Discussion is futile, because these statements are backed with total distrust in the profession of journalism, and an unwavering faith in the magical powers of video and audio editing. Media reports that implicate the TTP are declared false and video confessions are attributed to video editors sitting in Langley, Virginia. Interestingly, these resolute shoulder-shrugging-fact-checkers are usually the same people who embraced Agha Waqar and his water-kit with arms wide open.
The Malala incident was unique in the response that it got from Pakistanis. Here was a girl so focused on education that she defied the Taliban for it. A dream child for any parent worried about the education and future of their children, and thus the sympathy came pouring out.
It is exactly that sort of response that is needed to build a much-needed national consensus to tackle the Taliban. But a necessary victim of such a consensus would be the denialistanis narrative, and naturally the big guns came out to defend it.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed accused Malalas father of bad parenting. The product of Qazi sahibs parenting Dr Samia Raheel Qazi used doctored shots from a documentary to show Malala colluding with American officials. Maulana Fazlur Rahman brought out the surgeon in him to declare Malalas wounds to be fake and her recovery a drama. With the leadership stooping so low, the rank and file of these parties stooped even further and launched a hateful smear campaign against Malala.
But Malala doesnt pose the biggest threat to the denialistanis narrative, it is actually the Taliban who do. Each time TTP takes responsibility for the wanton killing of Pakistani Muslims, it smashes the façade of an infidel threat and a united ummah, that has been so painstakingly created by parties such as the JI, JUI-F and more recently the PTI.
Imagine how smug the leadership of these parties would have been had the Taliban denied involvement in these acts of terror? But while these political parties are in the business of winning votes, the Taliban are in the business of selling fear. Incentives dont align between the two, as the JUI-F and the JI have also been victims of Taliban violence.
But despite victimhood, the response of JI and JUI-F has been very different from that of the ANP. Perhaps because for the ANP this carnage is a realisation of what Wali Khan had predicted back in the 1980s. But for the JI and JUI-F this is a case of the chicken coming home to roost, a taste of the medicine that they prescribed for Afghanistan.
ANPs vindication and the religious rights embarrassment are highlighted very clearly in the aftermath of every terrorist attack. The ANP is very clear about naming the TTP and the need for bringing it to justice. However, for the religious right even condemnation comes with reluctance about naming the TTP and often the blame is put on CIA/RAW/Mossad etc. The end result is national confusion in which TTPs clearly worded confessions are ignored and instead, ridiculous conspiracy theories or the futility of a military response are focused on.
This national confusion is the TTPs biggest asset. They can spread fear by owning it, but then dont face the consequences.
The failure of our state in delivering these consequences is a failure of our army and security agencies. This needs to be dealt with as the failure of any other government institution. Simply initiating a new military operation would not do, seeking performance review is key in answering effectively to the Taliban threat.
The writer is an economist working in Islamabad. Email: imran.khan.hks@gmail.com
Source: TTPs most lethal weapon - Imran Khan
Who can forget the alleged absence of 3000 Jews from the World Trade Centre that implicated Mossad and not Al-Qaeda for 9/11? Or the RAW conspiracy to malign Pakistani cricketers? Not to forget Ajmal Kasabs saffron wristband which certified him as a RAW agent?
As things stand, Al-Qaeda has taken responsibility for 9/11; and our cricketers were conclusively found to be guilty. But despite these jolts of reality, what still remains is the quest for more denials in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Denialistanis, it seems, view the world through a special prism; one that shows everything as a struggle between a feeble Muslim David and a towering infidel Goliath. The eventual victory of David is foreseen to be the proof of being on Gods side.
If one is to look for a prototype of a Muslim David, need not look beyond the Taliban ragtag, religious and ready for war. For many cheering them on becomes a religious obligation of sorts. And we Pakistanis did that cheerleading very effectively. At a time when Afghan Malalas were being oppressed and killed, and Afghan Bilours executed in football stadiums, the Taliban were our boys.
But things changed when, from being the official cheerleaders for Afghanistans Taliban, we became victims of our own Pakistani Taliban. Ideally the infidel Goliath should have been blamed, but instead the villain turned out to be our own beloved Muslim David.
So how does one explain that?
Accepting jihadis as our enemies, poses substantial costs for some. Because at stake is the narrative that fuels Friday sermons, shapes our school curricula and forestalls any cuts in our military spending. Any exceptions to this will simply rob many people of their raison detre. Therefore there is no other option but to twist the obvious and defend the narrative.
Consider the aftermath of the Malala incident; first came the regular who did it? The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) proudly replied with a we did! This was responded with; Who are the Taliban?; How can one be sure that the TTP exists?; It must be Blackwater.
Discussion is futile, because these statements are backed with total distrust in the profession of journalism, and an unwavering faith in the magical powers of video and audio editing. Media reports that implicate the TTP are declared false and video confessions are attributed to video editors sitting in Langley, Virginia. Interestingly, these resolute shoulder-shrugging-fact-checkers are usually the same people who embraced Agha Waqar and his water-kit with arms wide open.
The Malala incident was unique in the response that it got from Pakistanis. Here was a girl so focused on education that she defied the Taliban for it. A dream child for any parent worried about the education and future of their children, and thus the sympathy came pouring out.
It is exactly that sort of response that is needed to build a much-needed national consensus to tackle the Taliban. But a necessary victim of such a consensus would be the denialistanis narrative, and naturally the big guns came out to defend it.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed accused Malalas father of bad parenting. The product of Qazi sahibs parenting Dr Samia Raheel Qazi used doctored shots from a documentary to show Malala colluding with American officials. Maulana Fazlur Rahman brought out the surgeon in him to declare Malalas wounds to be fake and her recovery a drama. With the leadership stooping so low, the rank and file of these parties stooped even further and launched a hateful smear campaign against Malala.
But Malala doesnt pose the biggest threat to the denialistanis narrative, it is actually the Taliban who do. Each time TTP takes responsibility for the wanton killing of Pakistani Muslims, it smashes the façade of an infidel threat and a united ummah, that has been so painstakingly created by parties such as the JI, JUI-F and more recently the PTI.
Imagine how smug the leadership of these parties would have been had the Taliban denied involvement in these acts of terror? But while these political parties are in the business of winning votes, the Taliban are in the business of selling fear. Incentives dont align between the two, as the JUI-F and the JI have also been victims of Taliban violence.
But despite victimhood, the response of JI and JUI-F has been very different from that of the ANP. Perhaps because for the ANP this carnage is a realisation of what Wali Khan had predicted back in the 1980s. But for the JI and JUI-F this is a case of the chicken coming home to roost, a taste of the medicine that they prescribed for Afghanistan.
ANPs vindication and the religious rights embarrassment are highlighted very clearly in the aftermath of every terrorist attack. The ANP is very clear about naming the TTP and the need for bringing it to justice. However, for the religious right even condemnation comes with reluctance about naming the TTP and often the blame is put on CIA/RAW/Mossad etc. The end result is national confusion in which TTPs clearly worded confessions are ignored and instead, ridiculous conspiracy theories or the futility of a military response are focused on.
This national confusion is the TTPs biggest asset. They can spread fear by owning it, but then dont face the consequences.
The failure of our state in delivering these consequences is a failure of our army and security agencies. This needs to be dealt with as the failure of any other government institution. Simply initiating a new military operation would not do, seeking performance review is key in answering effectively to the Taliban threat.
The writer is an economist working in Islamabad. Email: imran.khan.hks@gmail.com
Source: TTPs most lethal weapon - Imran Khan
Did i say anything to the effect that he has written rubbish? Please don't assume anything and stop labeling people. You act as if you know who the author is and what his motives are, when you don't so please don't assume. 
