Adil Najam
This photograph was published in Daily Times, January 12, 2009. The caption read:
“Women are not allowed in the market,” reads a banner displayed at the entrance of a market in Mingora. Taliban have banned the entry of women in markets and ordered the killing of women who violate the ban. Most shop owners have sold or shut down their businesses because of falling sales following the restriction.
What would have made this tragic depiction comical had the context been different is that from the picture this is clearly a textile and cloth market – the type of market where, in Pakistan, you would expect most customers to be women!
@Aamir Ali
I don’t think i wrote anything offending Islam or Muslims so you dont have right to be angry.
BTW isn’t one of the big demands of these gunmans is the imposistion of Sharia in Pakistan (and atleast partly implemented in SWAT). Do you know the argument Taliban gives while putting restrictions on woman(eg. what argument they put while bombing girls school in SWAT ? ) ? And FYI SWAT is not a small area.
You say that idealogy is imported from Afghanistan. From where did this idealogy came at the first place in Afghanistan ? India ? No its Saudi.
As far as creation of Pakistan is concerned I dont give a damn about anything related to it, much less this senseless partioning of lands, hearts, cultures and everything in the name of religion, language and what not. My only concern is that about 1 million people were killed during the partioning for promises of a better tomorrow for Muslims and Pakistan. I dont see those promises fulfilled(in Pakistand and India as well). Pakistan ows owed a lot to those dead bodies. Nobody should care about _me_ but they should care about those to whom promises were made and those who died in 1947.
And i dont see Muslims as invadors, many of my good friends are muslims. Infact I just had a dinner + irani chai + meetha pan with my friend who happens to be a muslim.
And please don’t underestimate my knowledge of Pakistan or Islam. Please see my name (although a fake one) and the generally accepted fact that Athiests know more about religion than non-athiests(you should have noticed that i used PBUH and I am not a Muslim).
Some questions:
1. How large is the area under the control of the Swati Taliban? From Wikipedia, I got a sense of how large the district is, but is all of the district under the control of the Taliban? A part of it? An area larger than it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swat_NWFP.svg
2. How many soldiers have been sent there? My understanding is that there are 30000 regular army soldiers there, in addition to paramilitary forces and police. I can understand that the police has probably ceased to exist (particularly the unarmed or lightly armed personnel). But how many armed personnel are there in total?
3. Where are these armed personnel stationed? News reports say that even the capital of Swat is not under the control (or at least full control) of the Government. So are they stationed in garrisons outside the town?
4. Are the armed forces units stationed there mixed units, comprising Pashtuns and others? Or are the personnel in these units primarily non-Pashtuns?
5. Is the operation against the Taliban based primarily on a ground offensive or using aerial bombardment (using helicopters for instance)? The latter may be attractive to the forces, but is unlikely to win the war. It is most likely to kill innocents (so called “collateral damage”). Counter-insurgency battles cannot be won from the air, to my mind. And in fact, the use of aerial assets can actually work against the success of such operations.
6. Is the army fully committed to rooting out the Taliban from Swat? Have actions of the army brass demonstrated this committment?
I really think that some people are DELIBERATELY trying to spoil this post and distract from real subject. And I resent this highjacking.
1. THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT ISLAM AND WOMEN. It is about TALIBAN AND WOMEN. If you are a Taliban yourself or a Taliban follower and believer then you might think this has anything to do with Islam. No one else does. Those who are trying to extrapolate from this what Islam does or does not say about women are either just ignorant or deliberately trying to use this for thier Islam-hating bigotry. Please don’t do that.
2. THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ALL OF PAKISTAN. It is about WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SWAT. There is still a big difference. The reason we Pakistanis are so worried about this is because this is NOT Pakistan and these criminals are taking over our country. So, those trying to depict this as if this is standard in Pakistan are again trying to just thrust their ignorant or blatantly anti-Pakistan views.
I am all for open dialogue. But the trolling and propaganda that a few outside commenters are doing here is deplorable. Maybe show some respect for the nuance of the topic, please.
bonobashi, yes, I was speaking theologically. Note the “in Islam” as opposed to “Muslim societies”.
Sher Bano, excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly.
@Gorki
I could reply to your second question quoting the exact significance of other religions in Islam, but that belongs to somebody else with the knowledge and the scholarship to do so.
Instead, may I refer you to my favourite story in the context, the story of Rabiya al-Adawiyya walking through the streets of Basra with a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. Look it up; it may answer some of your questioning.
I was born Hindu but observe no religion; if I ever did, I would follow her, I would follow Bulleh Shah, who came from your part of the world, I would follow Lalan Fakir (they would have been in perfect harmony with each other, from all that is known). Till such a day, it is enough for me to strive to think good thoughts, try to do good deeds and have good intentions. It doesn’t seem important or relevant to be observant. Neither hellfire nor the allure of paradise seems particularly persuasive.
Just my tuppence; if it doesn’t work for you, at least it’ll good for a laugh.