Adil Najam
To view such a video and assume that all of Pakistan is against the Taliban would be as delusional as the proposition that all of Pakistan is for them is deceptive.
The point of this video is not that all Pakistanis are opposed to Talibanization. It is that not all Pakistanis are for them.
The distinction between the two is subtle, but vital. The video puts to a lie the notion that anti-Taliban sentiment are to be found only in the so-called “liberal” and “elite” classes. Indeed, the empirical fact is that the people who the Taliban and other religious extremist forces have been killing in Pakistan are (a) nearly all Pakistanis, (b) nearly all Muslims, and (c) none of them are either very “liberal” or very “elite.”
It should not be a surprise, then, that at least some, probably many, and possibly most, “non-liberal,” “non-elite,” Pakistani Muslims would be against the Taliban and the war they are waging on Pakistan, Pakistanis and on Pakistani Muslims. The tragedy is that too many Pakistanis remain agnostic on the Talibanization threat and even more who are afraid of or reluctant to raise their voices against them.
There is clearly a need to counter the propaganda of those who would have us believe that the Taliban are opposed only by a few “liberal elites.” But equally important – even more important – is the need to acknowledge and somehow deal with the deep fissures and divisions within Pakistani society. Indeed, if there is any one unambiguous truth about Pakistan today it is that we are a deeply divided society. Deeply divided on many of the most existential questions about the country’s past, present and future: Including on questions of what the Taliban represent and how they should be dealt with. It is this division that the Taliban are exploiting. Until these societal fissures are somehow addressed neither military action, nor political strategy, nor international intervention will make any difference whatsoever.
@ Sidhas, you are saying that silent majority supports Talibans. I never knew that we all are butchers, and let me apologize to the professional butchers, for they will not be sliting throats of humans as Talibans do.
As long as we have even any resemblance of humanity we are not supporting any Talibans. If Pak Army stops wearing Chorian from Jinnah Market they should clean, flush and get back the writ of law that was abdicated in Swat and Malakand.
I am from Wana/Dera Ismail Khan, my family recently visited Pakistan for 2 months, wife & son are both “american”, scary part is that my son don’t speak Phasto/urdu (we tried and gave up) and had to be watched with body guards around them (not my call but my parent’s). They were suppose to spend 3 months in Pakistan but cut their trip short due to unrest in Pakistan and in our city. I remember growing up in Dera which had solgan of “Dera phaloon da saara” <i don’t think i did just justice to spellings but in english it means “Dera is like flowers you wear on your head during happy moments” This city used to safest city in Pakistan, no issues and now it is worst in security. It’s sad times because all i can do is pull my family out but there are many more left behind to be killed or see those killings that will ruin their lives.
The picture on your front page is even more powerful than the video. It is coffins of Pakistanis that these mullahs are giving us. Damn these enemies of Pakistan.
@SIDHAS.
Amazing how many people are willing to “speak up” for the so-called “silent majority” :-)
You are wrong, sir, it is clear that the taliban have no real support. Only through fear and terror do they keep your “silent majority” silent.
Just a cursory note I like to share with my network on Pakistaniat on Humpty Dumpty. This is the poem.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses,
And all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
Since my early years of education were spent in ‘Peela School’, I did not grasp poems like the Jack and Jill or Humty Dumpty.
“Jis nazm ka Qafiya nahi milta ho janab, maaena kahan milain gay sarkar” lekin kal mujhay samjha agaya.
Yes, yesterday it dawned on me the meaning of this poem Humty Dumpty.
If Pakistan (khak moon mein) were to go down, all the kings men and the horses will not be able to put it together.
I tell you Pakistanis, we must oppose Talibans and religious intolerance. As Adil put it, we are very divided society, it will explode without a central authority.
Lets not be our own worst enemy.