Taliban at the doorstep: A President in denial
The events in Pakistan on its 69th National Day, showing bombed out buildings, bullet ridden walls and weapon carrying men everywhere, indicate that the influence of those who seek to seize control of the country is increasing with each passing day
TWENTY FOUR HOURS is a long time, they say in politics. It seems it is even longer in the life of a nation. On the morning of March 23, 2009, a British news channel was busy showing a special programme covering the situation in Pakistan’s Swat valley. The scenic valley has been in the news for months now for its detiorating security situation and the capitulation of the Pakistani government to the militants there. It is, however, being presented as an accord to implement Sharia law and not a caving in to the diktat of the Taliban. If this was not scary and confusing enough, there are jeep loads of heavily armed men in turbans (that are not black) also moving through the streets. These we are informed, by the TV journalist, are local militias who have taken up arms to fight the Taliban. Where are the security personnels, one wonders, in this melee of armed men? They are there but reduced mostly to traffic duties and manning dangerous check posts where suicide bombers are known to have blown themselves up. The morale is predictably low amongst the policemen. They have paid a heavy price in this ‘dirty war’, in which they have many enemies but hardly any friends. There are scenes of public floggings and other forms of Sharia based punishments in the programme….all meted out by bearded and/or masked gunmen. The reasons for the Taliban running over vast areas of Pakistani territory might be any but the fact that they are firmly entrenched in the area is undeniable and yet the country’s President continues to deny this. Maybe caught up in his vindictive wars with the Sharif brothers and the judiciary he has no time to deal with the Kalashnikov armed, bearded ‘army’ moving steadily towards Islamabad just 250 kms to the south of Swat Valley. While the ruling elite looks to be in disarray, the public plays guessing games as to who is in control: PM Gilani, President Zardari, the army? There seems no such confusion amongst those who are playing for the final prize: the control of the Pakistani state. When the Lal Masjid was attacked, some months ago by security personnel from the special intelligence gathering unit, it was warned by the militants that retribution would come and true to their word they attacked the head quarters of the unit the evening (March 23, 2009, Pakistan’s 69th National Day). In another display of their ability to choose targets and attack at will, the militants sent a suicide bomber on foot to blow himself up. The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team was another brazen display of the militant’s encroachment into even the major cities of Pakistan.
The choice of the National Day to attack a police unit's head quarters is ironical as it was on this day in 1940 that the Muslims of the sub-continent raised the demand for a seperate Muslim state in order to safeguard their Muslim civilisation and culture!
In the Pakistani English media and in the blogosphere, educated Pakistanis complain vociferously about the world hounding them and always presenting a uni-dimensional image of their country. They partially blame the USA, sometimes Saudi Arabia and mostly India for carrying out a campaign of disinformation about their country. These members of civil society are right, of course, in claiming that Pakistan is not just about these bearded bandits. Pakistan is a land diverse in its ethnic composition and its art, fashion, literature, media, music and Sufism inspired traditions are second to none. But the fact remains that these heavily armed militias are slowly enforcing their writ in an ever expanding area and if the country’s power wielders cannot soon come to a consensus about how to deal with the terror outfits and their terror infrastructure then these bearded men, with AK 47’s in hand, might just become the only abiding image of our neighbouring country.
The choice of the National Day to attack a police unit's head quarters is ironical as it was on this day in 1940 that the Muslims of the sub-continent raised the demand for a seperate Muslim state in order to safeguard their Muslim civilisation and culture!
In the Pakistani English media and in the blogosphere, educated Pakistanis complain vociferously about the world hounding them and always presenting a uni-dimensional image of their country. They partially blame the USA, sometimes Saudi Arabia and mostly India for carrying out a campaign of disinformation about their country. These members of civil society are right, of course, in claiming that Pakistan is not just about these bearded bandits. Pakistan is a land diverse in its ethnic composition and its art, fashion, literature, media, music and Sufism inspired traditions are second to none. But the fact remains that these heavily armed militias are slowly enforcing their writ in an ever expanding area and if the country’s power wielders cannot soon come to a consensus about how to deal with the terror outfits and their terror infrastructure then these bearded men, with AK 47’s in hand, might just become the only abiding image of our neighbouring country.
.watch the extensive coverage on skynews channel or website in last 3 days of the state of things in Pakistan.Especially worth noting is their expose on LeT and its clout
.I admire the fact that most of the Pakistanis Men blame everyone else but themselves for these international trouble issues. Some of the Pakistanis also actually think that Pakistan is wrongly labeled as ��failed��.Pakistan is fast moving from 3rd world country to an un-named category of 5th world. It��s literacy is one of the lowest in world and population growth is the highest which is not sustainable. Pakistan can not support its self, it can not feed its people and can does not even has a capability to provide clean water and sanitation. Discrimination and corruption are the high points and disrespect for women is honored. Everything Islam is against is practiced in Pakistan.To understand as to why Pakistan has become a failed state, all one needs to do is read the comments of one Mr. Moin Ansari on this blog. This article is about Pakistan & has nothing to do with India, whatsoever. Yet, Mr. Ansari, unnecessarily launches into an utterly fallacious, hallucinogenic & misinformed anti-India tirade. Yes, India has problems but with it��s strong democratic credentials, secularist values & growing economy, those problems are being solved whereas Pakistan is sinking deeper & deeper in the abyss, below it��s mountain of problems.It��s this Indo-centric attitude and the inability to self-retrospect by Pakistanis like Mr. Ansari, that has brought Pakistan to the cusp of failure, bankruptcy & disintegration, today. Unless & until, Pakistanis accept their mistakes and clean house, nothing or no one can avert it from speeding towards disaster. The world can only help Pakistan if Pakistan starts helping itself. It is indeed a failed Islamic State. Pakistan��s tragedy is that those who were offered the chance of going down in History books as great leaders squandered the opportunities by their ruthlessness, lust for power and lack of patriotism. The so called Democracy therefore became a farce and a travesty with highly tainted, corrupt and murderous leaders of the two major parties alternating with spells of military rule unquestionably brought on by their incompetence and looting of the national treasury with rack less abandon.Pakistan is indeed a failed state whether its citizen accept it or not. The primary function of a state as Mr. Cowasjee of Dawn, Late Mr. Z A Bhutto and late Mayor of Karachi Tikamdas Whadumal Mansukhani, reminds us ad infinitum is to provide law and order for its citizens in which the govt. has failed miserably. Its writ is not followed in half of the country. We have a civilian dictator as the head of the government who has retained all the powers the military dictator had and then some. His party acolytes slavishly follow his every command rather than do what is right i.e. repeal the 17th amendment. People lack the basic necessities i.e. clean water, electricity and shelter. Women are being abused brutally every day and government fails to act, the Rupee is in free fall and the inflation rate is breaking the back of the poor and the dispossessed in particular. Lastly, it matters little what Pakistanis think if their country is a failed state. The world wide view of Pakistan is that it is and is the most dangerous place in the entire world as well as the area from which the next terrorist attack on the lines of 9/11 is likely to come. We have hit rock bottom when US commentators on the highly prestigious and balanced radio station NPR, discussing whether or not Mexico is a failed state respond �� No, Mexico is not Pakistan��.
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