In defense of Kerry-Lugar Bill

PointWise

By Dr. Khalil Ahmad

1. The furore against the Kerry-Lugar Bill in Pakistan is politically-motivated. Among other things which include opposition to the US government and to the Pakistan Peoples Party especially its present leadership, it has its roots in the mindset that has been nurtured through the last six decades by the Pakistani establishment. One of the most important characteristics of this mindset is its concept of charismatic sovereignty of Pakistan which gets hurt just by any hint of ‘bilateral relations’ of any type with any country. It may be termed as upholding an isolated sovereignty or an all-dominant sovereignty in a world populated with a large number of sovereign countries.

2. That we are unable to see the merits of the KLB in its proper context is both cause and effect of this fuss persisting from the highest military ranks to the lower intellectual strata of our society.

Waziristan Strategy or Pakistan Strategy?

The battle in Waziristan is variously called “the mother of all battles”, war of ideas and the war for the meaning of Pakistan. Whatever one may call it, there is a little doubt that this is the most important battle Pakistan has ever been engaged in. we hereby present, in two parts, an analysis of how this battle became unavoidable and attempt to present a comprehensive strategy that is required for winning this war.

Waziristan today has come to symbolize the paradigm in which Pakistan finds itself. An epicentre of ‘terrorism’, a symbol of ‘Talibanization’ and now a field for what has been euphemistically called ‘mother of all battles’. Pakistan and Waziristan were not always like this. How we have come to this pass is crucial to analyse, but even more urgent is to assess that are we prepared enough to win this battle?

Is this just a battle or a war? Is the battle confined to South Waziristan? What are the implications beyond Waziristan? What lies beyond the battle? What will happen after South Waziristan has been secured? What are our plans after the area has been secured and captured? How are we going to treat captured combatants? What will be things be like in two, five, ten and twenty years from now?

Blast in Peshawar Peepal Mandi Market

Updates

Number of casualties raised up to 104, more than 150 are wounded

EMERGENCY DECLARED, LADY READING HOSPITAL CALLS FOR BLOOD DONATIONS

AT LEAST 80 KILLED, 200 INJURED: NWFP INFORMATION MINISTER MIAN IFTIKHAR

At least six building collapsed due to the explosion in peshawar Market- Dawn News

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Vehicles and shop fronts were damaged in the massive explosion. — Photo by Reuters

Source: Pakvoices.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least 104 people, mostly women and children, were killed and over 150 injured when a huge car bomb ripped through a crowded market here on Wednesday.

The blast triggered a huge fire which engulfed a number of buildings near the Meena Bazaar. A plume of dust and smoke billowed from narrow lanes of the market situated in the old part of the city.

A senior intelligence official blamed terrorists based in Darra Adamkhel for the attack. ‘We intercepted a call last week in which militants were talking about a ‘heart-rending’ attack in Peshawar,’ he said.

A representative of the shopkeepers’ association said threats had been received in recent days with militants demanding that women be forbidden from going to the market.

The blast took place in two narrow lanes between Meena Bazaar and Kochi Bazaar frequented by women.

A cotton warehouse in the market caught fire which spread to several buildings on the Cheri Koban road. A number of shops along the narrow road, vehicles and carts were gutted.

Most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition and till late night only 25 of them had been identified.

Hospital sources said the death toll could rise because scores of badly burnt and injured people were in a critical condition.

‘It was a car bomb blast and over 150 kilograms of explosives were used,’ in-charge of the bomb disposal unit AIG Malik Shafqar Mahmud said.

He said that an initial investigation suggested that explosives had been detonated by remote control. The blast caused massive losses because it had taken place in a narrow and busy market, he added.

‘About 70 of the dead are women and children. Scores of the injured are in a critical condition,’ said Dr Sahib Gul, the in-charge of Trauma Centre at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

‘The blast was so huge that it jolted the entire area and within seconds plumes of smoke and dust started emitting out of a building near Al-Falah Mosque,’ Karim Khan, a shopkeeper, said.

Ezat Khan, another shopkeeper, said that parking of vehicles outside shops was not allowed, but it could not be ascertained how the driver of the explosives-laden car had managed to park it there.

Fire-engines, ambulances and other rescue vehicles faced difficulty in reaching the scene because of congestion and narrow lanes. People were seen taking the bodies and the injured to hospitals in cars, rickshaws and even on motorcycles.

A fire-fighter said that many children and women trapped in the debris of several buildings were crying for help, but rescue workers could not reach them because of huge flames.

A group of men trapped under the roof of a nearby mosque were rescued.

Rescue work was in progress till late night and workers were finding it difficult to remove the debris.

It was feared that some people were still trapped in the rubble because rescue personnel had heard them wailing and crying.

All shops in the area were closed after the blast and people started searching for their relatives.

A crowd of people inside the trauma room and emergency hall of the Lady Reading Hospital made it difficult for medical staff to perform their duty.

Distressed people, including women, were seen searching for relatives in the hospital, but recognising them was difficult because most of the bodies were mutilated. Stench of blood and human flesh hung in the air in the hospital.

NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftkhar Hussain told reporters that the blast was a reaction to the military operation in South Waziristan which had become a safe haven for terrorists of various countries.

‘Terrorism cannot be described as jihad as our religion does not allow taking lives of innocent people,’ he said, adding that the government would not bow to pressure and continue its fight against saboteurs.

Senior provincial minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour said it was difficult to deploy policemen at all places because of shortage of manpower.

The provincial government, he said, had already decided to recruit 1,000 retired personnel of the armed forces to help police.

Mr Bilour urged all political and religious parties to join hands and take a unified stand against terrorists.

Ideas can win the war

Shahid Javed Burki
Tuesday, 27 Oct, 2009

Now that the military has begun its Rah-i-Nijat operation in South Waziristan, the question has begun to be asked whether it will succeed. We will not know the answer for several weeks, perhaps not even then.

The real victory will come only when the people not just in the tribal areas but in all parts of the country decide that they have been misled by a small of group of extremists.

The people must make clear that they don’t see their country and religion being under assault by the West, in particular the United States, and that it is their own people who are attacking them. In addition to the use of military power, what is required is the use of people’s power. The war being fought in the hills of South Waziristan is not simply a military war; it is more a war of ideas.

Not an elitist media!

By Dr. Khalil Ahmad

If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.

[Art Buchwald]

I

With the advent of electronic media and its proliferation, the war against the all powerful elite classes has acquired a new dimension in Pakistan. As the force and both reach and range of TV channels has no parallel in the history of communication technology, now the previously all important print media occupies a backseat or just follows suit. But of course it has its own uncontested place.

Islam & social reform

By Asghar Ali Engineer
Dawn- 23-10-09

It is very unfortunate that many ulema should still vehemently oppose everything new, only to accept it later, reluctantly, for their own survival. We often refuse to move with the times and then time forces us to move with it after extracting a price for our refusal to change. -APP/ File photo

Traditional ulema have nearly always opposed social reform calling it un-Islamic. Many are able to mobilise support from static Muslim societies by quoting either certain selected Quranic verses or the hadith. Historically, ulema have also declared reformers as kafir or mulhid, i.e. believers in naturism rather than God.

Hakimullah Mehsud’s Autobiographical Handwritten Notes

Following a meeting of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah

Hakimullah authoring the notes

Mehsud’s meeting with tribal reporters last week, the NEFA Foundation has released a brief autobiographical sketch handwritten by Hakimullah Mehsud to provide a reliable account of his life and origins to the media. At Awaam we have posted A Translation of Hakimullah Mehsud’s Autobiographical Handwritten Notes and an Analysis of Hakimullah Mehsud’s Autobiographical Handwritten Notes by NEFA Senior Investigator Claudio with Reporting by Javed Afridi.

How Do People of Pakistan reply? Lets March on Them

The twin suicide blasts in Islamic International University in Islamabad has resulted in the killing of five people today. At first glance the attack leaves one puzzled and confused as to the motive of the attackers.

Why Islamic University? Why Hijaab clad girls?

But stand back and reflect for a moment and it all becomes crystal clear. The message is loud and plain.

If the terrorists can target the Abaya and  naqab wearing women in the Islamic University, then they can kill anyone, at any point.

Its a loud warning shot to the People of Pakistan.

They have shown once again that their main strategy is to maim and kill ruthlessly.

The purpose is to cause fear and expand this fear deliberately so that it acts as a restraint from daily life to critical decision making. It is to traumatize, pressurize and psychologically terrorize people, by creating pain, anguish, remorse, anger and fear.

For a terrorist morality of an act is not justified by consequences but by motivations.

This act is a clear attempt to make the people succumb to the ways of the terror and paralyze them. By targeting sense of security and hope of ordinary citizens the terrorists have raised the heat by a notch. The fear and terror of being hurt or killed is even more destructive than the actual killing itself.

Another purpose might be to create public opinion and pressure against the ongoing Army operation in lawless Waziristan.

So how are people of Pakistan going to reply ?

Can the ‘democratic government’ stop the hope and faith of people from dying?

Can the political parties unite to destroy the enemies of salamti (Islam)?

Do the religious political parties have any clear stance about terrorism or have the courage to reveal it?

Is anyone going to start a Million March or Dharnaa March ?

Zardari ? Gilani ? Sharifs ? Aitezaaz ? Ali Kurd? Imran? Qazi?

Anyone ?

Or are we going to simply shut our doors, stay in and wish it would all to go away.

No Sirs. We must act.

We must send a message to the terrorists- loud and clear.

We must continue with our daily lives. We must March together.

March on ‘Waziristan’.

WAZIRISTAN BATTLE…. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING

Waziristan will be the Qabristan: One country – One Law

This duel in Waziristan will be a Qabristan (graveyard). This is an oversimplification. The only intrigue here is whose Qabristan – the Army’s or the fanatics’? ……

The average Pakistani is caught between existence and survival……..

Where are the politicians who promise him law and order and access to education and affordable prices for daily needs?……

If the fanatics win, all hope is lost. You lose. I lose. Pakistan loses.

By temporal on baithak@blogspot.com

The Battle for Pakistan

Rising violence, targeted and random, has become a fact of life in Pakistan today. It threatens the country’s political and economic future—and there still does not appear to be a strategy to stop it. The fledgling civilian government, composed of a weak coalition of opportunistic parties, has conceded to the military responsibility …….    The latest military campaign in South Waziristan, launched Saturday, is a good example of the disconnect between the government and the military……. That is where the civilians need to step in. To date, they have been largely absent…………….  female literacy is no more than 3%. Most of the so-called youth bulge there, some 300,000 people aged 16 to 25, is unemployed…

By Shuja Nawaz on http://online.wsj.com/

A New Battle Begins in Pakistan

Despite serious reservations, Pakistan’s military at the weekend began an all-out offensive against the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan……..  In preparation for the assault,the army made ceasefire deals with several influential Taliban warlords who run large networks against coalition troops in Afghanistan……

Saleem Shahzad in Asian Times

Pride & Prejudice

Where are the schools, hospitals, a welfare system, political stability, a robust democracy, a healthy economy, and a life free of sectarian and religious strife, bigotry, bloodshed and hatred? We are all prisoners of certain delusions—about ourselves and about the many countries that we believe are constantly scheming against us. We refuse to free ourselves from these paranoid, self-serving apparitions and yet we demand sovereignty from the nefarious designs of our many (largely imagined) enemies. The enemy is us.

By Nadeem Paracha in Dawn [smoker’s corner]

Suicide attack in Islamic University Islamabad

four students (2 male and 2 female) and one administration official died in the result of attack- Universities will remain closed for one week- Dawn News

SKY NEWS:

At least two people have been killed after twin suicide bomb blasts ripped through a university building in Pakistan’s capital, authorities have said.

Islamabad police’s Deputy Inspector General Bin Yamin told Sky News the first explosion happened in a cafeteria and the second in an Islamic law department.
Early reports said officials had confirmed two deaths, but Mr Yamin said six people had been killed.
A further 20 were injured at the campus, on the city’s eastern flank.
We have also received body parts, including one severed leg that we cannot identify.
Television footage showed paramedics helping two casualties with blood stains seeping through their clothes.
The blast at the cafeteria left bits of flesh splattered on the floor and shattered glass.
Altaf Hussein, spokesman for Islamabad’s main hospital, said: “We have also received body parts, including one severed leg that we cannot identify.”

Police superintendent Abdul Ghafar Quaiserani said two suicide bombers struck around the same time. No group has claimed responsibility.
Pakistan has been rocked by a series of armed attacks by Taliban militants in the past two weeks.
The assaults left more than 170 people dead and included a 22-hour siege of the army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital.
Authorities have been braced for more violence because troops are attacking a Taliban stronghold in the northwest South Waziristan area.
The fighting for control of the lawless region is a major test of the government’s ability to tackle an increasingly brazen rebellion.
Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants have been blamed for a two-year campaign of suicide bombings and commando raids in Pakistan. The death toll since 2007 has risen to 2,250.
:: The International Islamic University was established in the 1980s. Its sprawling campus has more than 12,000 students, nearly half of them women.

Kayani writes to Mehsuds, seeks tribe’s support

By Iftikhar A. Khan
Tuesday, 20 Oct, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has sought support of Mehsud tribes in the operation against militants in South Waziristan.

In an open letter to the Mehsud tribes, the copies of which were distributed among reporters at a press briefing jointly addressed by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas, the army chief expressed the hope that the tribes would fully back the army in the operation and collectively rise against oppressive elements for a decisive action.

He made it clear that the operation in South Waziristan was not meant to target the ‘valiant and patriotic’ Mehsud tribes, but aimed at ridding them of the elements who had destroyed peace in the region. He said the target of the operation were Uzbek terrorists, foreign elements and local militants.

What is the army’s role?

By Shandana Khan Mohmand

19 Oct, 2009

THE Kerry Lugar bill, its conditionalities and the controversy it has created have all received excellent attention in these pages over the last few days. Most of the points about the country being misled in understanding the bill by a frenzied media have also been made.

However, two key questions remain: what are the citizens of this country thinking when they give in to this media frenzy or to the army’s self-interested rhetoric? And why, after all these years, are we not able to differentiate between the army’s rightful role as defenders of Pakistanis, and its wrongful role as a political force?