Back in 2002, I was returning from Friday prayers when I saw an unusual gathering of singing and quasi-dancing Mullahs. Unusual because I had always assumed Mullahs to be against all types of art. The amused crowd were listening to chants of “Taliban aa gayay, Taliban aa gayay.â€
I smirked. As if!
Pakistan is a nuclear country with the seventh largest army. We’re safe.
The Mullahs’ songs have been answered – the Taliban indeed are coming. And with them the cowards are bringing a lifestyle that destroys everything Pakistan and Islam.
Oh no. Wait! “This guy is on the paycheck of those who are trying to break Pakistan. Taliban are heroes, its America which is wrong.” Yes, this is the typical self defense mechanism coming to full force. Having nothing to lose, and having been already declared a CIA agent earlier in life I suppose I’ll continue. Continuing with a genuine fear, that these words are falling on either deaf or hostile ears. Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan is over if all this chaos continues.
Jinnah’s Pakistan is a dream gone wrong. Perhaps if he knew that the dreamland for living in peace, harmony, religious tolerance and freedom was going to become arena for public flogging where laughs of sadist barbarians and the screams of minors will echo, he would not have decided on creating it. Had he known that there would be more suicide bombs in his country than any other place in the world, where fundamentalists would go around the cities threatening women, where school children would have to undergo security protocols as if they were in a war zone, would he have even bothered to work for the green and white?
Still, Pakistan is not what we worry about. All our esteemed talk shows chatter on is whether there should be 17th Amendment or not and on the statements by America and India. Yes, American drones and Indian statements are a threat to our sovereignty. Yes, the balance of power is important. But even when the Taliban have killed more people than India, American Drones or our tyrant rulers, taken over more of our land and have made us feel more unsafe than anyone else in the past thirty years? What other definition of sovereignty is there than protection of lives and property of people, maintaining writ of the state across the territory and having people feel secured? Why can’t we have some programs discussing the atrocities of the Taliban, the acts of terror that they do and how they have destroyed Pakistan?
No, it’s the “Hindu Zionists†(notice the contradiction?) working on a CIA sponsored conspiracy to break Pakistan. There are the good Taliban who fought the Kuffar off and the real issue is the CIA. Apparently, everyone has all the time in the world to devise every action we do, plan it to perfection and then make the evidence of their involvement disappear. Are we really that important for the rest of the world to worry about when they have their own countries and problems to tend to? Even if the Taliban are foreign funded should does that not mean we should double our efforts? Remember when India briefly occupied few territories near Lahore in 1965 how the whole country ran to defend it? My grandfather had stories of people going with sticks to support the army. I am afraid I will not have any such stories of patriotic resistance to tell anyone when another enemy has taken control of a fourth of NWFP and roughly one twentieth of Pakistan. Perhaps we should ban “Yeh watan tumhara hai, tum ho pasban is kay†for it seems no one really care about Pakistan, except the Zionist Hindus of course.
But no, remember the glorious days of the Caliphs? Remember the great Pakistani Fauj, who under the Ameer-ul-Momineen, Zia–ul–Haq, crushed the Russians? This is only a plan to make America taste the same fate! For a nation which already lives in denial, these conspiracy theories are all we need to turn us completely schizophrenic. Army is great and it will deal with any task assigned to it. More of the same comes from everyone turning patriotic everywhere. This automatic knee-jerk mechanism has seeped in our blood and shut off our brains.
For the love of God can anyone explain me why the great Army of Allah, whose laurels we sing from the day we are born, has still not been able to jam radio stations pouring terror in Swat? Have the core commanders not even tried asking the army engineers how radios work and how easy it is jam them without even having to be in the line of fire? Can they not even figure out if they only played “Who let the Dogs out†at the frequencies the Taliban use it would stop this vitriol? Why is it that these Taliban leaders can appear before journalists in broad daylight and roam freely without any trouble even when they claim responsibility of attacking Pakistanis across the country?
Perhaps the real question I should ask is why do I even care?
When I took time off from Harvard to be part of the lawyers’ movement I had seen a ray of hope. There were concerned citizens and lawyers who stood for what was right no matter what the consequences. We fought for a principle and won with the hope that things will slowly improve. Today the very judges we had faith in released the cleric of Lal Mosque whose crimes everyone knows about. If the judiciary was going to release people whose crimes were recorded on TV perhaps it does explain why Taliban are spreading like an incurable cancer. Imagine who would be hanging in “khooni chowk†had Mullana Abdul Aziz kidnapped a few Taliban officials or fought against them and killed their men?
Yet when you think all’s over, somehow someone comes up. Someone whose name keeps your head from drowning. Perhaps this sick torture has to be long and painful where we chase mirages of oasis, never to really reach them. Perhaps for all the atrocities we have committed to our own people require us to be made an example of so no other nation follows our path. Why do ray of hopes like Afzal Khan, who has socked it up to Taliban and refused to be removed from Swat alive, appear every now and then? However he stands to die in the rain. Alone.
Can anyone please name one Pakistani leader who has said the same? Forget that has anyone Pakistani leader said that he will go and get the Taliban to give up their arms? Will the real leader who can get rid of these monsters stand up? Imran Khan? Qazi? Nawaz Sharif? This silence is criminal!
What’s worse that these leaders of ours have unanimously approved a state within a state run, which is not accountable to anyone, absolves all crimes of the Taliban and gives a safe haven to those who are there to kill us? What sort of a Nizam-e-Nonsense is this when no one even tried to debate the issue properly and even consider for a second that giving blanket amnesty to the Taliban might not, even if it be infinitesimal, the right thing to do? No for the politicians this does not matter. All they are interesting in mudslinging at each other and more ministries. Our media and sheeple are busy devouring the latest gossip while Pakistan burns.
But unlike what people think it will not be because of Zardari’s corruption or Gilani’s incompetence or Salman Taseer’s antics.  We have survived them in the past, and so we’ll do again. But any country that falls to the Taliban will never recovered.
The Taliban are here to stay and unless we stand up against them in every possible way Pakistan will be lost – for good! It will be the silence of the lambs which destroys us. You will be responsible if Pakistan fails.
Sammad Khurram is a student at Harvard University and turned down an award from the US ambassador as a mark of protest against killings of Pakistani soldiers by US drone attacks.
Gorki,
Thanks for a very sensible analysis. Six decades have gone by. Only mutual antagonism has remained.
We sense the following perspective from Pakistanis in general:
1. India is a Hindu country and BJP is the most dominant force.
2. India’s policies are Pak-centric.
3. India’s Muslims are treated like holocaust victims.
4. India is made up of slum dogs where poverty, illness, illiteracy etc infest the landscape.
5. India is constantly working towards maligning Pakistan.
When we sense the above in most Pakistani postings, it evokes strong emotional responses. Just like Indian perspectives of Pakistan from the outside is wrong, so is the Pakistani’s perspective of India.
We are too diverse in every which way to have a concerted view of anything. There are people who support Pakistan inside India. Read Arundhati Roy’s articles and they will sound quite anti-establishment.
Pakistan does not occupy the minds of most Indians. We know in general that our relations have not been good. I cannot say for sure how much India occupies the average Pakistani’s mind either.
In general most Indians are docile, moderate, selfish, and have our own immediate issues to pursue. The mention of Pakistan will not unite all of India, the way India’s mention can unite all Pakistanis.
The one thing people should realize is that in terms of size, structure, people, diversity, outlook, population, ideals and so on, there is no comparison between Pakistan and India. The two countries should not be equated and compared at all. Pakistan is a relatively small nation. India is a huge nation and compares in many aspects to China. One is called a Dragon and the other an Elephant. We are paired up in terms of nuclear capability. So we do not step on to each others’ toes. So we have begun to compete economically and it is a healthy competition. Many Indians do not like our country to be equated with Pakistan. I think this is where the ego gets tripped. Indians look at Pakistan the way they look at Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma etc which also share borders with our country. So we do not understand why Pakistan, amongst all our small neighbors is so bold and belligerent. We are a big nation and therefore every step we take will be big. Pakistan should not try to match up with each step. It has to go by its own priorities. Even a small move by us will appear hostile because of our size. But in reality we have no nefarious deals against Pakistan.
People have to look at the reality and understand facts. That way a matured outlook will develop. Until Mumbai attacks happened, most of us happy with the way things were going and did not worry much about Pakistan. Now suddenly everything has been turned around. The way Pakistani establishment has tried to cover the facts up has ticked many Indians off. There was an opportunity to work with India and nail those who perpetrated the crime. But that was busted. So trust becomes thin.
Anyway, I guess the tension in the area will take a long time to go away. Until then mutual suspicion is going to be present. It is unfortunate. But we are all victims of our circumstances.
The news from Dir is very good and this is teh type fo aggressive steps we need to be taking.
Taliban____Naheen Aagay. I as a responsible citizen request all of the media especially TV channels, kindly not become a part (conciously or mistakenly) in creation of a ‘hype’ which Enemies of Pakistan would like to.
There are so many problems & Topics for discussion, rather than Talibanphobia. Please stop more discussions in this matter. If a media perona feel his national respomsibility, he can understand the sensitivity of my sincere & honest advice.
Breaking news in THE NEWS:
TNSM suspends talks with government
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi(TNSM) has suspend talks with government after start of security forces operation in district Dir.
The spokesman of TNSM Ameer Izzat Maqam said no talks will be held with government until end of operation. Meanwhile provincial government said no operation is underway in Dir and security forces retaliating militancy.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Muhammad Iftikhar said, the security forces are retaliating militancy in Dir.
Security forces operation has entered into second day in Dir. Heavy shelling carried out overnight at militant hideouts in Madan and Kal and other areas of district Dir.
Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Lal Qila, Islampura, Kal Kot and other adjoining areas. Security forces tool control of Lal Qila, a key territory in tehsil Madan. The locals welcomed the action of security forces.
DCO Dir Ghulam Mohammad has issued the circular of closure of government schools in tehsil Madan. All markets are also reported closed in the Madan area.
@Meengla, Mauryan, Sridar and Amir Ali,
All one has to do is to read your exchanges and realize how difficult it is for the nationals of India and Pakistan to discuss issues of security and trust (or lack of it). Here you are, four, reasonable and extremely well informed people regarding the security related matters, in a civil discussion. While none of you appear to be an aggressive fanatic nationalist yet all of you understand the defense doctrine of your own nation and find it hard to see fears and compulsions of the other side.
The lack of consensus in your discussion very neatly lays out the trust issue that has been hard to address by our leaders even when well meaning initiatives were undertaken (which was not often enough I must add). Similarly it highlights the problems of having a constructive discussion between people from the two sides even on the civil forums like the ATP.
I feel therefore that any meaningful discussion can only take place if the framework of discussion is changed, and invite you all to comment on this view.
1. The contest in South Asia is changing (if it has not happened already). Thus it is less of an existential battle of a nation against nation and more between the extreme fanatic ideologues versus the moderates on both the sides.
2. India and Indians have to realize that when they say Pakistan, they are referring to three different groups, all with different views of what kind of Pakistan they would like to see. The only thing that unites them is the fear\antagonism of India.
3. There is a Pakistan of the Sufi and the Baitullah kind; a small minority of extreme elements who are currently driving the agenda in Pakistan but their goals and interests are not necessarily those of the other two. This realization is slowly sinking in. The second is the Armed forces. It is patriotic and wants to defend itself and Pakistan against India against which it is heavily indoctrinated. Its thinking is heavily influenced by the 1971 war and this in my opinion led it to make two major strategic errors; its Kashmir policy and the search for strategic depth in Afghanistan. Its goals do diverge from the civilian leadership at times due to the fact that it has usurped the government from time to time and as a result has become very politicized and has developed vested interests as well. The third (and the majority) are moderate people like Meengla and Dr. Saleem who love their country. They don