Month: October 2009

In defense of Kerry-Lugar Bill

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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?

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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 …

Blast in Peshawar Peepal Mandi Market

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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 ____________________________________________________________________                       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 …

Ideas can win the war

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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!

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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

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By Asghar Ali Engineer Dawn- 23-10-09 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

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

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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 …

WAZIRISTAN BATTLE…. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING

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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 …

Suicide attack in Islamic University Islamabad

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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 …

Kayani writes to Mehsuds, seeks tribe’s support

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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?

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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?