Expecting miracles from jackasses

Islamabad diary Friday, May 30, 2008 Ayaz Amir A strange nation we are, expecting wisdom from morons, radicalism from born opportunists, and virtue from knaves whose principal claim to fame is daylight national robbery. What do we take the national scene to be, the result of a Nepalese revolution or a Chinese long march? Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after a deal brokered by the Yanks in whose prowess she had invested all her hopes. Nawaz Sharif's return to the country came about as a result of Saudi royal intervention. Hard to detect the glimmers of any Che Guevarism in either of these Roman triumphs. Musharraf took off his uniform not because a million men and women, torches in hand, had besieged Army House but because the Yanks were twisting his elbow and support for him within the army command was waning. The lawyers' movement played a vital part in weakening him but lawyers take on too much upon themselves when they portray themselves as the heralds of the changes that have swept Pakistan. All the leaders of the movement – from Aitzaz Ahsan to Munir A Malik to Ali Ahmed Kurd – are my friends. They are possessed of admirable qualities but modesty or humility, alas, is not the most conspicuous among them. They expect the world to change but themselves refuse to change, still stuck in the heady feelings generated by their movement last year. If the tide flows it also ebbs. Critical points come and pass. Their movement has lost its momentum and something more than Aitzaz's driving skills – his uncanny ability to arrive at every destination at least ten hours late – is needed to regain it. The people made their views known on Feb 18 but only because they were given an opportunity to do so. If they had not been given that opportunity does anyone think that they would have taken to the streets and stormed the citadels of power? In which make-believe world do we live? Our capacity for being pushed around is virtually inexhaustible and our political class, far from honing the tools of political resistance, has arrived at the last stages of moral and intellectual bankruptcy. If the Feb elections had been shelved, Pakistan would have dug a deeper hole for itself but the masses would not have stirred. A nation that could endure Ayub Khan for eleven years, that knight of darkness – Ziaul Haq – for another eleven, and a certified mediocre like Musharraf, a disaster in both war and peace, for eight and a half years, can put up with anything. Still the fact remains that whether the Yanks played around with the props on our political stage or the Saudi Royals had a hand in altering some of the background tapestry, elections were held, Musharraf and his pack of political jackals were roundly humiliated, and political parties reviled and abused, and kept out in the cold all these years, swept to a dramatic victory. So the people were not remiss in expecting great things to happen. What they have received instead is another extended lesson in the workings of political bankruptcy, the political parties in whom the people had reposed their trust proving epic failures at political management. Instead of dealing with real issues and trying to figure out how to get the country out of the hole in which it is stuck they are chasing shadows, evening out old scores and charging at toothless dragons that have lost the power to spout any fire from their raging nostrils. Zardari, to his credit, is being the man that he always was: interested in power and money. Courtesy of the deal struck with Musharraf (through the Yanks) he has just won himself the biggest reprieve in Pakistani history, all cases against him – and it was not easy counting them – having been wound up. The people of Pakistan may yet be awaiting their miracle but he has received his. My Lord Dogar, presently adorning the highest chair in the Supreme Court, is the agent of this miracle. And the people of Pakistan, chumps as ever, expect Zardari to put Dogar in the doghouse while My Lord Iftikhar Chaudhry, symbol and hero of the lawyer-cum-judicial movement, sweeps into the Supreme Court. This won't happen in the real world as long as Zardari is around. So what he is doing is smiling all the time and spouting some of the worst clichés about institution-building that the people of Pakistan have had to put up with for a long time. The people of Pakistan – ordinary people, that is, because some have had a ball – have had to put up with much all these years. But having to endure lectures on politics from Mr Zardari takes the prize. Those in the charmed circle of the PPP elect – that is, in Zardari's good graces and therefore enjoying office or importance – go about with trained smiles on their faces. Sherry, I said, was becoming a competent minister. She is also turning into a sophisticated version of the dreaded Mohammad Ali Durrani. But imagine the plight of those not in this charmed circle. They have to take in all that they are subjected to without wincing or saying anything in return. Our political parties, all of them, produce no rebels. They turn out courtiers instinctively aware that discretion is the better part of valour. So the nation is being fed a series of fibs as extended as the thousand and one tales of the Arabian Nights: all about constitutional packaging, etc. Zardari misses not a step when reciting this litany. Farooq Naek, the law minister, as he goes through the same paces looks a deeply unhappy man. Things are whirling out of control and the economy is sinking and the rupee taking a further dip every day but the political charade being played out in Islamabad goes on, each day bringing a fresh twist to it. And what is that other great party of the people, the PML-N, doing? Heaping fresh imprecations on Musharraf's head when Musharraf is no longer the problem. Far from being a den of conspiracy, the erstwhile Army House where he is still holed up has now a house of sorrow, another lesson in what happens when the pomp and glory of power have fled. Yet the PML-N keeps harping on Musharraf as if with him gone or better still impeached, the bright morning Pakistan has long awaited will have finally arrived. It is a sign of the state the PML-N is in that without giving the matter a second thought it overreacts to the appointment of a political nonentity like my old friend Salmaan Taseer (never mind if he is a smart finance man) as Punjab governor, turning Salmaan at least for 48 hours into a looming presence on the political landscape. Beware the time when Musharraf is finally no more because the time for excuses then will have run out. Whom them to blame for the nation's shortcomings or the ineptitude of the political class? The PML-N also runs the risk of being perceived as a single-issue party. It has boxed itself so much into a corner over the judges' issue that it has drastically curtailed its room for manoeuvre. We will restore the judges, the party and its leaders thunder at every opportunity, when it lies not in their power to do so. The key to the restoration of the judges is in Zardari's pocket and he has other games to play and other accounts to settle. The PML-N consoles itself with the thought that its graph is rising while the PPP's is plunging. That may be so but of what use a rising graph when it is hard to predict what is going to happen in the next five months, let alone the next five years. How long will the present pantomime last? Suppose it doesn't, will we head into an election or another night of the…I need not spell out the word. Zardari may be playing a negative game of his own but the PML-N's interest lies in seeing to it that the present experiment, centred on Pakistan's first attempt at coalition-building, lasts. But for that it will have to break free from the shackles of the judges' issue. Perhaps it would if it got some help from the legal fraternity or even My Lord Chaudhry. But the legal community has run out of ideas while My Lord Chaudhry no longer seems capable of thinking outside the box. He has proved himself a great man in many respects but the gift that marks a Mandela from an ordinary mortal seems not to lie in his grasp. Someone with true greatness in his soul would have said by now 'all right I am ready to step aside provided Musharraf goes too, Dogar also goes, and the Nov 2 judiciary is restored' thus sacrificing self for a higher cause. Iqbal, awakener of our souls, where has thy memory fled, where all thy songs exhorting us to emulate the flight of the eagle? At stake is the country's future, calling for vision and some measure of greatness. What we are getting is a dance by dummies and men of straw.

Remember the Queen who asked…..

When Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) was leading Bani Israel, towards Canaan, Remises 2 started to chase them with his mighty army. Moses (peace be upon him) reached river Nile with his followers, at that moment of despair God commanded Him to strike his stick at the water, He did and the river split into two. Moses and His followers crossed the Nile, Remises 2 watching this followed Bani Israel into Nile along with his army. At that moment the river was joined together by God’s will. Remises realizing that the end is near acknowledged the miracle of God and accepted God as the Almighty asking for forgiveness, God did not accept his plea, and he drowned with his army.

Remises 2 is not around to witness the twenty first century, otherwise he too would have been shocked at the brutalities that besiege our planet today. Amongst the other countries of this planet is a nation of 170 million people, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Gone are those days when Pakistanis were a nation of humble, polite, hospitable, god fearing people. Rather we as a nation have become more barbaric and stone hearted. So cold blooded has the nation become, that value of a human live is meaningless.

Be it the massacre of May 12th, where scores of political activist and common folk were killed within few hours, and their corpses rotting on the streets of Karachi. Or the natural calamities that fall upon us as if the nature is taking revenge for not valuing its gift to us. Lets flash back to the earthquake of October 2005, yes people I am talking about the same earthquake, where our own people looted the supply trucks that were on their way to affected areas to distribute medicine, food, and water. It was not some alien race, which paid money to truck drivers to drop food and medicine at their shops rather than at relief camps, so that it shall be sold later for inflated prices. This was indeed, the same calamity, where we saw widows, young girls, being abducted by vultures who deal in human sex slavery, and prostitution. There were no Jews, American-CIA, agents, who were doing this. We, proud Pakistanis were eating the flesh of our own brothers and sisters.

Gluttony and capitalistic greed has cemented itself under our skins in a manner unknown to other nations. It is not adequate enough that in sixty glorious years of our existence we are unable to provide for ourselves, basic health, safety, clean water, disaster management, and relief operation systems, the government had to show its real skin, that they are not much troubled by the havoc rain and flooding has caused. For Shaukat Aziz, our beloved prime minister (on leave from Citibank corp. to develop Pakistan) it was suffice that he travels around in a helicopter witnessing the carnage from a bird eye view, when that very helicopter could have saved lives of some people who were inhaling their last few polluted breaths in this motherland. Well you can’t really blame him or any other government official can you? For we only have to look into a mirror to see what we have become. When 120 million citizens of this country are living their lives on less that $1 a day, we the sane, enlightened citizens of this republic, have to spend as much as we can to celebrate basant, rather Jashn-e-Baharan, and that too at the cost of lives that are lost in celebrating it. Right now in some part of this country people who are affected by this natural disaster are looking up at heavens asking for some help. In another world within our country there is a place called Lahore. In Lahore lies a red carpet, waiting to welcome the elitist elite of Pakistan to the country’s first fashion week. After all this country is now enlightened and moderate too, so it doesn’t matter that some poorest of the poor are dying everyday in some remote corner of this country. The real thing for Pakistanis is to be proud of holding the first ever fashion week in this country. Fashion week, where the dresses being cat-walked can be only afforded by 0.1% of our elite. While there maybe no water for the dying needy, we can be rest assured that there will be plenty of water and other throat soothing drinks (CAUTION: drinks that leave you tipsy are available in our Islamic republic too!) at royal palm country and golf club.

If Quaid-e-Azam could see what we the people of Pakistan have become, more importantly the mess that we have made out of his country, I can not imagine what his reaction would be. Perhaps there would be none, for he too would be totally shocked at the depths of immorality, corruption, and skulduggery that we have reached. Blood is thicker than water, you can clean it but the stains never go away. Blood of innocent people of Pakistan is being lost everyday, in this country. There is no free lunch in this world you have to pay for what you consumed. And if that consumption is fed by destroying the lives of the powerless, deprived citizens than nature has a brutal way of taking revenge on those who sucked blood out of those innocent souls. French revolution is something that uneducated or even the literary minds of this country are much unfamiliar with. I hope that we don’t come to the point where we would have to relive the part of history when the French deprived souls took too the streets, and killed anyone who was simply rich and could afford exotic perfumes, or designer dresses. When the Queen of France heard about the unavailability of bread in the nation, inquired surprisingly, why don’t the people eat cake? Fortunately we don’t have a Queen or a King, but our government does have one of the largest cabinet of members in the world. They too can someday be asked about the availability of bread or perhaps water. I hope their answer is not the same as the Queen’s.

Talha Mujaddidi

Terrorism in Pakistan

After a general discussion of terrorism and counter-terrorism we now take a look at recent wave of terrorism in Pakistan and its causes. As discussed in the first part of this series of articles, terrorism is of two types the good terrorism and bad terrorism i.e. terrorism and counter-terrorism. Terrorism in Pakistan is not a new phenomenon, there was always violence involved in political spectrum of Pakistan. The recent spell of terrorism has seen new dimensions that were absent from the ugly spell of terrorism in Pakistan. Recently we have seen suicide bombings in Pakistan that have been blamed on militant groups like “local Taliban” and Al-Qaeda. In this second article on this topic we shall have a look at the background of these terrorist activities.

During the 80’s Afghanistan was under Soviet occupation, as we all know that the famous Afghan Jihad was waged during this time. Once again Afghanistan is under occupation by American and NATO troops. The difference is that Pakistan is at the wrong side of the equation this time. During the last Afghan war, Pakistan took the task of setting up base camps for training the Mujahideen who were pouring in from different parts of the Islamic world to fight against the Red army. The policy makers in Pakistan at that time led by General Zia and his military planners took the task of planning, logistics, and finances in their hands. The CIA was neither interested nor invited to set up base camp here or move around freely inside Pakistan. At that time Bin Laden and other militants were called terrorist by Soviet Union, while Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and United States called them freedom fighters. Today the same Mujahideen are called terrorist by United States, Pakistan and others.

Tables were suddenly turned after 9/11, when Pakistan was asked to make up its mind immediately after President Bush declared furiously “you are either with us or against us”. Pakistan agreed to join US in its War against Terror. The problem was the Pakistan agreed to each and every demand that the US had given Pakistan. When we examine the two policies with regards to Afghan wars, we see that unlike the 80’s this time Pakistan allowed the US to set up base camp inside Pakistan. The US military was also allowed bases and airfields for logistic support. Once the war to oust Taliban was over, US set up a government in Afghanistan that included elements who are very anti-Pakistan to say the least. Right away India was allowed to setup its consulates in different cities in Afghanistan. The runaway dissidents of Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) are also given sanctuary in Kandahar, where the Indian consulate provides them with training, weapons and ideology to go back into Pakistan and create law and order problems.

In 2003 the US asked Pakistan to start a military operation in Waziristan area. According to the US there was strong indication from intelligence sources that Al-Qaeda and Taliban were regrouping in Federal Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan particularly Waziristan. The US put tremendous pressure on Pakistan to start a military operation in Waziristan. Succumbing to pressure Pakistan started sending troops inside Waziristan. For operations like the one in Waziristan Pyrrhus of Epirus is quoted to have said “one more such victory and we have had it”. The history of military adventurism in the tribal areas pointed clearly towards disaster. The British also tried to conquer this area during the early part of their rule of Indian sub-continent but failed miserably. Pakistan persisted with the operation despite continued difficulties. The local militant or Taliban as they are often called are angry at Pakistan government for allying itself with America and its allies. The local Afghans and the ousted Taliban both see their country Afghanistan occupied by American and NATO troops. The sentiment of the Pashtun population in Northern Areas, FATA, and NWFP is also against American occupation. The failure of Karzai government to provide, employment, security, development to any part of the country other than Kabul has further fuelled the notion that Karzai government is a mere puppet of the US and a total failure. The US military mischievously has repeatedly fired its hell fire missiles from unmanned spy planes that have only resulted in killing innocent civilians. This action has created further hatred against the US military. Every time such incidents took place the Pakistani government made the fatal mistake of owning the US military strikes by saying that that strikes were carried out by Pakistan Army.

The terrorist acts in Pakistan intensified after 2005 and suicide bombings started taking place in Pakistan at alarming rate. 2007 was the most horrific year for Pakistan when it comes to suicide bombings and other bomb blasts. At least 66 bomb blasts took place in 2007 alone. The policy maintained by President Musharraf’s government might have served some interest of the US but it was totally out of sync with Pakistan’s national interest. The first mistake in the policy is that there was no definition of terrorism. A clear line should have been drawn as to who the Pakistan government is going to label terrorist and who would not be labeled as a terrorist. Right now anyone who is against American occupation in Afghanistan is labeled a terrorist. Wrong policies and persistent yielding to American pressure provided golden opportunity to India and its intelligence agencies to exploit the law and order situation in Pakistan. Whenever the Pakistani leadership tried to negotiate with the Taliban or other militant groups the local tribal elder or the political agent was mysteriously assassinated by unknown gunmen.

The situation in Waziristan was not stable when a new front was setup in Swat. The problem in Swat was not new and had started in 1995-96 when PPP was in government. It was diffused peacefully, and local Sharia courts were allowed to operate in the area. The real question to ponder upon is how a new front was started in Swat? Who was behind the arms and logistic supplies that the militants were receiving? According to former interior minister Naseerullah Babur, India is behind the support that the militants are getting in Swat.

The situation in Northern tribal belt is bleak to say the least. Western media, Afghan, United States, and the British governments are repeatedly saying that the situation is Afghanistan is not improving because Pakistan’s tribal area is a base for Al-Qaeda, and Taliban. There is something wrong with this statement. The first problem is that the real struggle that is going on in Afghanistan is not near Pak-Afghan border but in southern region of Afghanistan. Until recently there was no American or NATO troop’s presence near the Pak-Afghan border but the border was manned by Afghan army. In 2001 right after the American attack on Afghanistan commenced, the American started air strikes at Tora Bora mountain region. But the Americans did not man Pak-Afghan border area before starting their bombing campaign. The result was that the Bin Laden, most of Al-Qaeda and Taliban fled into Pakistan’s Tribal belt.

Since then there has been immense pressure on Pakistan government to do more to crush these elements which are hostile to American occupation of Afghanistan. The situation in tribal areas has not improved and the current situation is still volatile. Why is it that the US is so persistent in continuing a military operation in Waziristan and adjoining area? What is really at stake there in that region for Uncle Sam? What strategic interest does China has in Pakistan and its tribal areas? What are the intentions of our eastern neighbor India?

To be concluded

Talha Mujaddidi

Hail to the American Nation!!

Terrorist have place a nuclear weapon inside a vending machine in a football stadium
where people have gathered to watch the super bowl. Sum of all Fear, a Hollywood
movie based on Tom Clancy’s novel depicts this scene. This is just a scene in a
movie, but in reality there are many angry people who are willing to kill themselves and other innocent people just to make a point about biased US foreign policy.

American people could care less. Entire nation is so indulgent in their sports,
food, leisure, gossip, fashion, and Hollywood movies that they have little time for
anything else. Even after 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq war the common perception
amongst the people in United States is that the foreign policy of the United States is and has always been rightly guided.

The American nation has always been in its own league. They have their own slang, their sports are usually different from the rest of the world. Their music, fashion, even the system of units is different from the rest of the world. Americans play sports amongst themselves and do not believe in competing with other nations except in Olympics or similar sporting events.

It is true that democracy in United States is much stronger than most other countries and also has checks and balances. However, this does not mean that US can go to another country and super impose their democratic system on that nation. In doing so they may send the nation back to stone age by dropping daisy cutter bombs and killing scores of innocent civilians. According to the Lancet medical journal report published in October 2006 the death toll from US led invasion of Iraq has now reached an estimated 655,000.The report was the work of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. The report has been examined and validated by four separate independent experts. One of the authors, Dr. Gilbert M. Burnham (co-director of the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response at Johns Hopkins) had this to say, "Although such death rates might be common in times of war, the combination of a long duration and tens of millions of people affected has made this the deadliest international conflict of the 21st century and should be of grave concern to everyone". The minimum number of people that have been killed according to the Lancet report is 392,979.

Of course it’s not more important then the NBA finals, or Britney Spears next concert. According to the gallop survey conducted in 2004 America was the most disliked country in the world amongst people of all countries except United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, India and Japan.

The American people need to raise themselves above the lies of fox news, to find the
truth that the skewed American foreign policy is partly responsible for the carnage in the middle east, and the rest of the world, and the resulting nest of terrorist that are rattling the foundations of our peaceful planet. Now the media is getting ready to create hype that Iran is the next evildoer that needs to be terminated in the name of democracy.

While people die in Africa, because of hunger, starvation, aids, and fighting. While Iraqis sit and wonder who will kill them next ? A bomb from the sky or a suicide bomber? While the Palestinians look towards the sky for help from their misery, while the environment depletes, while the world spends the most($1.6 trillion) it has ever spent on defense; of which US has a share of over $500 billion; on this beautiful Sunday afternoon Americans are busy shopping at the malls, or at the beach or still recovering from their booze effect from the party last night, some are standing in line at MacDonald’s for a quarter pounder, or at Starbucks for a Frappachino, waiting for the evening so that they can go home to watch their favorite team compete in NBA basketball tournament.

On the other side of the globe some 6.4 million Afghans sit and live amongst 2400
landmine affected communities, and ask themselves if they should go out on the street or just in their homes in fear of being blown up by a mine.

Talha Mujaddidi

You can’t fight this Clash of Wills!!!!!

Basically this bomb blast was not a suicide bombing and even if it was then the suicide bomber failed miserably , the two suicide bombers were not dumb enough to detonate 10 feet away from BB’s truck, they could have easily detonated it right next to her truck. A lot of investigative journalists have pointed out that vast majority of bombings that take place in Iraq are labeled as suicide bombings, are in fact remote detonation masterly orchestrated by CIA thugs and their cronies the Private Military Corporations (PMC's). We should ask this simple question that last month the suicide bomber was able to penetrate the highest level of security and enter in to Tarbella Ghazi commando regiments mess and detonate the bomb there, but he was unable to target BB’s truck, and he was only waiting all day for the moment when BB was safely down inside the truck although she was on top of the truck for hours long. Also last month suicide bomber that struck the bus that was carrying ISI personal to work had minute to minute knowledge and details about the entire scenario as if provided by some one from either inside the agency or someone from another superior agency. All this seems like a lot of Hollywood style melodrama to me.

This bombing was done by CIA as most others similar to the one that killed Rafique Harriri in Lebanon (the purpose there was to get rid of Syria from Lebanon and pave way for Israel to attack Hezbollah in south Lebanon, which they did in summer of 06, but after getting nailed in south Lebanon for a month Israel had to pull back all it could handle was loss of 125 soldiers, and the glass tower of wishful thinking came crashing down).

The purpose of this bombing is to create a moral emotional attachment through the media in minds of Pakistani public for PPP so that in the coming elections people can absorb the surprise of the seats that PPP will get. Already the media has become more biased towards PPP twisting the news and creating hype about the whole issue. Noam Chomsky's “manufacturing consent, political economy of mass media" is a must read in this regard.

The purpose of this bombing is also to divide Pakistani political parties along the lines of moderate forces and extremist forces. Anyone who does not bow down to American agenda is extremist. Unfortunately almost all of our political parties even "Maulana diesel "are happy to sell their loyalties again and again just for a few Benjamin's.

CIA has a tarnished brutal history of playing double game in different parts of the world. In the Iran-Iraq war they openly supported Saddam and then Israel through the black market gave weapons to Iran. They openly supported Hamas when it was created now they support Fattah openly while making sure that guns used by Hamas are not short of bullets. Lists of examples are too long to discuss here. Most brilliant example is of Iran at time of Khomeini’s revolution, the protesters who started the riots against the Shah of Iran were on the pay roll of CIA. The supporters of Shah who initially fought back were also serving the same master. Here also they are supporting all sides Mush-BB on political front, Pakistan army on military front and Al Qaeda on the militant front. Purpose is to completely drain Pakistan politically, militarily, and to drain Taliban and those elements that might be a threat to American interest in Afghanistan and Pakistan in future. The elections as always will be engineered; in fact the engineering is already complete. Any fair and free elections in any part of the Muslim world or Latin America or other parts of the world will result in anti American forces. Latest example is Islamic parties winning in Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, anti American forces in Venezuela , Bolivia, Spain, Mexico would also have been on the list had the CIA not rigged the elections the last minute.

People of Pakistan will never accept any political arrangement made by Zionist neo cons in Langley. This is not a battle between moderates/liberals and fundamentalist/extremists, this is a clash of the will, the will of the majority of the people of this world to survive and defy American global hegemonic agenda. This is a battle that can not be won by brute force and daisy cutter bombs. This battle is not just a battle it is a legacy of all the great leaders of the world who fought and gave their lives but never bowed their necks in front of a super powers malicious desires. Struggle that was sparked by Tipu Sultan, Omar Mukhtar, Ernesto Che Guevara, Shah Faisal, Ho Chi Minh, Hassan Nasarullah is not complete and will not be until their is political justice in this world.

Talha Mujaddidi

"The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars but we the underlings" Julius Ceaser by Shakespeare

It’s like a cheap code of a computer program, if all else fail then coup/emergency. Perhaps it’s a bad nightmare in which a person is having another nightmare and wakes up only to find out that the nightmare is still going on. Pakistan's cursed political history is filled with trail and errors. Military rule followed by rigged elections which results in inept corrupt to the core governments that invite the generals back to power. Unfortunately the code for this program is not written by us but our masters in Langley.

The only thing that is different about the latest emergency deceleration is that it is part of Washington's grand War against Terror plan. Musharraf unable to deliver as per Uncle Sam's standards directed the blame of his incompetence, and disastrous policies on the Chief Justice, and Independent media. Washington obliged, indeed it would, for it has a history of backing illegitimate military rulers and brutal thug dictators all around the world and then easily cleaning up the house once the job is well done, or not so well done for all it cares. A little walk down memory lane, when South Vietnam's president a CIA backed puppet Ngo Dinh Diem was no longer needed for his services he was easily sent packing from planet earth. According to American historian Ellen Hammer, Kennedy was shaken, “the first catholic to become president of Vietnam was assassinated as a direct result of a policy authorized by the first American catholic president". A lesson lies their in for Musharraf for he is smart enough to remember Zia, and the box of mangoes in his C-130.

US wanted an ideal pro-American government in Pakistan and it still thinks it can achieve the agenda, likely so, since Musharraf is in charge at least until he organizes an election in which BB can win enough seats to form government. But what after that? Sooner or later Musharraf will be gone. The divide between people of Pakistan and army is growing dangerously; soon a time will come when military can no longer support puppet governments propped up by US. The US is realizing, as the smart lady "Condi" pointed out "birth pangs of new middle east" are not just birth pangs but rather bangs that are just making it difficult for US to gulp down their appetite for hegemony in middle east,(the new middle east map starts from Pakistan). Instead of taking care of this mess, US is ready to expand the mess from Afghanistan, and Iraq, to Iran, Pakistan and Syria. The resistance is tough, brutal indeed, for it starts with cleaning the house. The anti-American terrorist killing the pro-American terrorist. Who goes to hell and who gets to live there forever we certainly will not find out, but blood is being spilled and more will be spilled. Perhaps Hassan Al Bana said rightly (though I don't agree with his ideology) "History does not write its lines except with blood. Glory does not build its loft edifice except with skulls; Honor and respect cannot be established except on a foundation of cripples and corpses".

For Musharraf should have thought about all this before bowing down his head in front of US after 9/11, things would have not been much different but at least Pakistanis would not have been killing fellow countrymen.

Current emergency will bring more carnage to Pakistan. The political parties have lost support amongst the people, the main reason for this is they lack solid political ideologies and are totally undemocratic parties. The polarization that has taken place after 9/11 is between pro and anti American sentiments. People of Pakistan realize fully that American desires are evil to the core; therefore the people of Pakistan will fight for their independence. You can shut down the TV channels and lock up politicians and judges but you can not kill the independent mind. The struggle for independence was started many decades early but is still not complete, and will not be until people of Pakistan are able to live independently with their heads high in honor. Every single Pakistani has an obligation to this nation and to themselves, to keep their minds independent and free. We rather be dead than become a slave of Capitalist global agenda. For their is no substitute for freedom.

UNHOLY ALLIANCE

There’s a jungle, it is divided into two parts by a pond of water. A rabbit desperately wants to cross the pond to go to the other side. There is a big six feet problem, a monster of an alligator (gator), who rules the pond. Gator asks the rabbit what troubles you buddy. Rabbit says, I want to cross the pond but I am afraid you will try to kill me. Oh, who told you such rubbish replied the gator. I am nothing but friendly and kind. Come with me and I will take you across. Reluctantly the rabbit hops onto the back of the gator and entered into a journey of “unholy alliance”. Half way into the journey, the gator says to the rabbit, see I am not monster, you just relax soon we will be on the other side. When the journey was about to be over the gator flipped tossing the rabbit into the pond and then the rest is as they say history.

Pakistan too is on a journey with its ally the United States, this journey is on a ship. There’s a storm in the sea causing damage to the ship and soon the ship will sink. Should Pakistan jump into the sea? Maybe Pakistan too like Jonah (pbuh) will survive the storm. The other choice is to remain on the ship; unfortunately the half life of the ship is not long. But the choice is not really for Pakistan to make, since Uncle Sam happens to be the skipper of the ship and without his consent no one can leave the ship. Such is the quagmire where Pakistan finds itself today. It’s more than just a catch-22. Most of the scenes we are witnessing today in the length and breadth of the country are result of our own decision making. Ironically they are also reminiscent of similar events that took place in Latin American countries throughout the 80’s and 90’s. Fate has a cruel sense of humor, that too in the form of Negroponte, John, the newly appointed US Deputy Secretary of State and former intelligence czar. Suffice is to say that he was the bird under whose eye view, Honduras, Panama, and Mexico witnessed scenes of carnage. The bird was recently in Pakistan too. According to Noam Chomsky, “In the Regan-Bush administration, he was ambassador of Honduras, running the world’s largest CIA station, not because of the grand role of Honduras in world affairs but because Honduras was the primary US base for the international terrorist war for which Washington was condemned by the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council. There was virtually no reaction to the appointment of a leading international terrorist to the top counterterrorism position in the world.”

What happened in Lal Masjid is now well known but unknown are the answers to tough questions. The situation that is emerging in the after math of Lal Masjid is very bleak, and grim. Since Musharaf came to power the country is being divided into two distinct segments. The elite-liberal Left and the religious Right. Religious right is a very broad term but at the moment the mantra that emerges from the western media and to a certain extent our own media make the spectrum of the Right wide enough to accommodate all the unwanted. Fundamentalist, traditionalist, anti-west, anti-American foreign policy, pro-Taliban, all are unwanted. They are all not required now; some of them were indeed required to balance the equation when it was imperative to fight the Red Army. The freedom fighters backed by CIA, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan were called terrorist by Soviet Union. Today they are called terrorist by CIA, Pakistan amongst others. Better yet, they also have a name Al-Qaeda, and other Aliases too. Who is a terrorist? How do you define terrorism? Were the militants inside Lal Masjid terrorist? Is killing our own people by our own army terrorism? Can we label all those whom we trained for the last two decades before 9/11 in guerilla warfare terrorist just because we don’t need them anymore? Were the mujaheedins fighting in Kashmir terrorist? Was the Indian army involved in state terrorism? Is Hamas a terrorist organization, if so then why is Fatah’s history of violence suddenly ignored? What about the holocaust in making of Palestinians courtesy of the great wall that Israel is building? Killing millions in the Jewish holocaust is terrorism but killing at least 3 million in Vietnam War is not? Taliban are terrorists now, but they were surely our beloved in another timeline. Killing thousands of people as collateral damage is fine, but when the killer is on the wrong side of the fence he is a terrorist. Before the American independence war British too labeled George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others as terrorist, with time they became founders of a nation and were called patriots.

There is no place for the religious right in this country so it seems the establishment has decided. Unfiltered content is being shoved into our minds daily by some private television channels, magazines, radio channels, shady non profit organizations, celebrities. The inner will of the nation is being changed by hook or by crook. Albert Einstein once said "The ruling class has the schools and press under its thumb. This enables it to sway the emotions of the masses." Pakistan is not Turkey which can be changed in few years from a fundamentally religious country to a secular country. Turkish nation was totally different from Pakistani nation. Turks, were very well educated, culturally and historically well versed, had built Ottoman Empire to reflect their past glory. Lastly Ata Turk with all his evil was in fact a Military Commander who did fight British at Gallipoli with true brilliance. He was not like Musharaf who could not handle Kargil and blamed the Prime Minister for the mishandling of the War. Pakistan is a different country; Pakistanis are very loosely tied to each other as a nation only on the fine thread of religion. There is no nationalism in Pakistan like there is in Turkey, or even India. If this thread of religion is broken and people are split into being for or against religion then it will have disastrous consequences for the country. The message that is being sent to the people is, it’s ok to have massage parlors, dance places, fashion shows, music concerts but it’s totally unacceptable if there are few mosques in Islamabad. What a bad impression it might make to our beloved friends visiting from western world. When foreigners come to Islamabad they should be catered to by five or six star luxury hotels, where exquisite wine and alcohol should mesmerize them. One phone call should arrange for them expensive mistresses. Were those mosques the only illegitimate buildings in the country, and why did the government not do anything about it for many years. Our religious text taught in school books was changes over night. Madares had to register with government and they have to teach “worldly education” also to the students. Why did the government not start by educating our dumb, intellectually zero parliament? The infiltration of propaganda and mass deception is too much to write in few lines. Capitalism has completely taken the Pakistani nation hostage. Books depicting similar events in every details have been written on countries which got the same treatment, Iran, Panama, Vietnam, Chile, Mexico are just few examples.

The government is planning another military operation in Waziristan and Swat area. For operations like the one in Waziristan Pyrrhus of Epirus is quoted to have said “one more such victory and we have had it”. Reports are also coming in that the peace treaty with the local Taliban (a pathetic term used to describe any local resident who is against the government) is broken and three division (bigger than a brigade in normal circumstances) troops are being sent there. All are signs that much violence and chaos is in store in coming days. Only tears will not be shed but blood too will be shed and it will be our own blood and blood is equally real. Our own people are radicalized by our government’s wrong policies. Our Army is being forced to fight against our own people. The situation in Pakistan can be termed “me against my brother” (was also name of a book written by Scott Patterson on Civil War in different African countries).

There is no easy way out for Pakistan. First part of the puzzle is to get rid of this regime which is headed by Gen. Musharaf who is fast becoming a brutal dictator. This is not an easy solution West at the moment is in chorus with the General. But the good thing about the law of nature is that all things good or evil deeds come to an end. The ship will float for a while but eventually it will sink. Should we sink with the ship? Or should we jump in the sea, if we can that is? Can we disobey Uncle Sam? Or should we continue the unholy alliance? And are we willing to bear the cost of this alliance. Remember that most massacres and civil wars took place within few days and few hours. Tragically it took a long time to bury the dead.

Talha Mujaddidi

Terrorism or Counter-terrorism

“I always wanted to be a soldier for my country”. Suicide Bomber said to himself. But I am a soldier, or am I? He was sitting on the last seat of “Bus 66”; there were a lot of people in the bus today, just like any other day. “I wanted to give my life for my country on the battle field. This is also a battle, if I die now, I can make a mark in our struggle for freedom. But this is suicide, I can’t do this! This is a war, and in war you can give your life for your country or political ideology. Yes, I should complete my mission.

This could have been the last thoughts that might have gone through a suicide bombers mind during the numerous suicide bombings that took place during the last few decades. Suicide bombing have been the most notorious act of modern day terrorism. Japanese Kamikaze pilots were suicide bombers in the Second World War as they crashed their planes into American ships. French rule in Algeria came to an end in 1962 after the French could no longer take the heat of suicide bombings. The world revisited suicide bombings in Sri Lanka courtesy of Tamil Tigers, and then it started becoming an international terrorist tool, and it reached apogee on September 11th 2001.

When a suicide bomber decided to end his life and take with him others to the unknown world he is labeled as a bloodless terrorist. A person who is willing to kill himself for his/her political cause is not a mad man. He is been well programmed to accomplish his mission. Root cause of terrorism is always political injustice, racism, cast, creed, religion, nationalism, communism, acts as catalysts. As noted by Professor Robert Pape of University of Chicago, “Beneath the religious rhetoric with which [such terror] is perpetrated, it occurs largely in the service of secular aims. Suicide terrorism is mainly a response to foreign occupation rather than a product of Islamic fundamentalism. Though it speaks of Americans as infidels, Al-Qaeda is less concerned with converting us to Islam than removing us from Arab and Muslim lands”.

There are always two sides to every equation, the universal law of nature, which Newton highlighted so eloquently as the Third Law of Motion. “To every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction”. Good balancing itself against evil, positive against negative, north, south, etc. Hence terrorism has to be balanced too with Counter-terrorism, the “good terrorism”. War is a political tool, when corporate elites, through politicians are unable to attain their ulterior motives they resort to nefarious acts such as War (Without Any Real Reason). In order to fight this war very well programmed professional armed forces are ready. People who volunteer to join armed forces are mostly those who are from less affluent spectrum of the society. They too want a bit at the cake of “Riches”. When a soldier joins the armed forces he willfully signs a declaration stating that he is willing to lie down his life for his country. When he does, he is awarded a medal, remembered as a national hero. A pilot flying an F-16 or B-52 drops a bomb on a village where suspected enemy combatants are hidden, later he finds out that most killed were innocent civilians (collateral damage). Is there a difference between a suicide bomber and a soldier who kills innocent civilians? Yes, suicide bomber happens to be on the wrong side of the equation. The right side of the equation is that where wars are fought against other countries in the name of McCarthyism, Anti-Socialism, Anti-Communism, Democracy and, War against Terror (“Wanton killings of innocent civilians is terrorism, not war against terrorism”, Noam Chomsky). Such are the hypocritical norms that govern our world.

The fact of the matter is that there is no standard definition of terrorism. Terrorism expert Walter Laqueur has counted over 100 definitions of terrorism. Most common statement made on terrorism is “one man’s terrorism is another mans freedom fight”. This was echoed again by Nelson Mandela in an interview with Larry King in May 2000. “I was called a terrorist yesterday, but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists. I tell them that I was also a terrorist yesterday, but, today, I am admired by the very people who said I was one”. Unlike the rhetoric that emanated from the government and other popular circles of United States, specially Fox News channel, the reality is that Al-Qaeda, or terrorist who are from the Islamic World do not hate America because of freedom, democracy, or the American way of life. People in the Islamic world are against the foreign policy of America, more specifically its global hegemonic agenda. Harsh reality is that terrorism is a business, without it there would be no counter terrorism, no well maintained armies, and without them there would not be any need to buy expensive weapons, not much money circulation either. Covert agencies worth billions of dollars would become paper weights on this earth. This is the vicious circle that has made this world more dreadful with each passing year. Naomi Klein, Canadian author and journalist expressed similar views recently, “Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism - real and exaggerated - has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses.” Howard Zinn had this to say on terrorism, “Terrorism has replaced Communism as the rationale for the militarization of the country (America), for military adventures abroad, and for the suppression of civil liberties at home. It serves the same purpose, serving to create hysteria”.

The word terrorism is just too complex to define clearly. The only thing that can be generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and threat of violence, and that killing of innocent people can not be justified in any way. Jason Burke, an expert in radical Islamic activity, has this to say on the word “terrorism” in his book Al-Qaeda, ch.2, p.22, “There are multiple ways of defining terrorism, and all are subjective. Most define terrorism as 'the use or threat of serious violence' to advance some kind of 'cause'. Some state clearly the kinds of group ('sub-national', 'non-state') or cause (political, ideological, and religious) to which they refer. Others merely rely on the instinct of most people when confronted with innocent civilians being killed or maimed by men armed with explosives, firearms or other weapons. None is satisfactory, and grave problems with the use of the term persist. Terrorism is after all, a tactic. The term 'war on terrorism' is thus effectively nonsensical. As there is no space here to explore this involved and difficult debate, my preference is, on the whole, for the less loaded term 'militancy'. This is not an attempt to condone such actions, merely to analyze them in a clearer way.”

Terrorism can never be defined clearly, whenever a revolution, a freedom movement was fought in the name of freedom, liberation, right of self determination, it was associated with terrorism by those opposing it. Most of the time those opposing such indigenous movements were colonial powers Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Others and recently America, and in Middle East Israel.


Talha Mujaddidi

Bottom of Form

WAKE UP!!!!!

“Another such victory and we have had it” King Pyrrhus of Epirus

This ancient quote comes to my mind after the recent election results were announced in Pakistan. The old crooks are back with gloss and glitter. The humble forgetful people of Pakistan are happy to welcome them back into power. People have short memories, it is true for any nation, but a nation that forgets its history, its geography is changed by its enemies. Napoleon predicted China’s emergence as a global power long before anyone else could, he said, “Let China sleep, for when she awakes she will shake the world”. Unfortunately Napoleon was not around to witness the state of affairs of Pakistan, for he might have said, “Let Pakistanis sleep for when they awake there shall be no more Pakistan, and the world shall laugh at you”.

Democracy in Pakistan means nothing more than a breeding ground for robber barons and scoundrels. Pakistan has a literacy rate of 40% and according to the latest UN Human Development Report one of the few countries in the world which has a declining literacy rates. Literate in Pakistan means anyone who can read and write their name. The electoral constituencies in Pakistan are nothing more than family holdings, where elections results have produced the same people every time elections have been held. Only change has been the different family members switching political parties, with half the family members sitting in opposition and half in government.

The political background of Pakistan is very complex yet simple at the same time. The Indian sub continent was ruled by Mughals for a longtime. When Shah Jehan was the King, Mughal Empire was becoming huge. In order to rule efficiently the Mughals had divided the empire into provinces which were further divided into cities, and towns. Further sub-division led to the creation of zameens, or land holdings ruled by zamindar, which were loyal to the Mughal Empire, they paid taxes, maintained an army, which was also loyal to the Mughal King. When the sun set on the Mughal Empire Punjab was over run and ruled by Sikhs, the zameendars in no mood to let go off their power and prestige simply removed the Mughal Flag and replaced it with Sikh Flag. Then Sikhs were over thrown by British Empire the zameendars removed the Portrait of Raja Duleep Singh and replaced it with the Queen. These zameendars were not interested in anything else but maintaining their own power. Zameendars of Punjab were the most active among all. They happily had served in Mughal, Sikh and British armies. When the zameendars saw that creation of Pakistan was inevitable they started joining the Muslim League, and labeled themselves patriots. “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels” – Samuel Johnson

The British created their Unionist Party which openly called for the British to remain in India, and was totally against the creation of Pakistan. Almost all the zameendars of Punjab joined this party. The situation in Sind was similar, and the famous families of Sind and Punjab were getting their monthly stipends from British Empire. Chandios, Mengals, Talpus, Tiwana, Jamali, Ghutani, Bazinjo, Bughti, Khan of Kalat, Mukhdoom family of Punjab, Aitezaz Ahsan’s grandfather, Hamid Nasir Chatta’s grandfather, Shahnawaz Bhutto, Sikander Hiyat are just few prominent names from a very long laundry list of families whose allegiance for a few hundred years have not been with the people whose lives they are destined to destroy, but with their masters elsewhere. The irony is that the current political leaders are the grand children or direct relatives of these same people. The election result has not bought any change, we can have elections every year but it will never bring any change until we change the system once and for all. Doing that is a mighty task.

The situation right now is that humble people of Pakistan think that new government will reduce the prices of food item, create jobs, restore judiciary, etc. Nothing of this sort is possible, Inflation standing at 12% will increase, gas prices are going to be increased, trade deficit already worst in our history will grow completely out of control. Both Nawaz League and PPP are completely incompetent to provide any direction to the nation. Both these parties are corrupt to the core, most of their party members are the same landlords who are not interested in anything else but making more money. ANP, another party that Is in coalition with PML(n) and PPP, was founded by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who was called “frontier Gandhi”, because of his allegiance to Indian Congress and his anti Pakistan stance. ANP still is a sub nationalist anti-state party. As Mohammad Ali Jinnah said “Every successive government of Pakistan will be worst than its predecessor”. Equally useless are the other political parties. Law and order situation is not going to improve either. The coalition of thugs will eventually collapse. Talk of restoring the Chief Justice is pretty childish for everyone should realize that Big Brother does not like some Chief Justice interfering in their war on terror. Americans have no interest in our political process, their strategic interests are at the moment well maintained by GHQ and they will always be concerned with the army chief. There is no grass root movement, no real democratic socialist movement that can up root these thugs.

Under the umbrella of globalization the world is becoming completely capitalized. Capitalized economy has only served the interest of the elite class. The rich has become richer and the poor have become poorer. The European countries have modeled themselves on socialist-democracy, hence their nations are better off economically and socially than Big Brother. Malaysia Is another example of a nation that was smart enough to keep a distance from the IMF and World Bank right after the 1997 South East Asian Economic crisis. Recently countries in South America are slowly transforming themselves from market economies to socialist economies. Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela are some examples. Coming back to Pakistan, the main problem is that we need a political party that has realized the main problem of the nation. The main problem is that we need to transform ourselves from capitalistic nation to a socialist nation. At the moment there is no political party that is either nationalist or working towards socialist democracy. Until there is a political party that is working to free us from the chains of capitalistic slavery we should not expect any change in the lives of the common man.

What we need in Pakistan is a complete overhaul of the system, we need to get rid of these tyrants and robber barons who have become our leaders in the name of patriotism, as Thomas Jefferson said, “tree of liberty must be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” It’s high time that we wake up from our slumber and decipher the cheap rhetoric that our politicians have been feeding us from a very longtime.

Talha Mujaddidi

The Mother Of All Follies

From the stock of political jokes of Pakistani politicians comes a new joke. But before we get to it, let’s have a flashback. Our beloved President and Prime Minister are still spending as much money as they can on all the perks, gloss and glitters that they can get their hands on. In the last 6 years alone the President and PM house expenditure combined was at least Rs.860 Million. Now be imaginative and add up the cost of all the Governors, Chief Ministers, Ministers, Secretaries, advisors, their families, servants, dogs, and cats.

The last government had for itself 80 federal ministers; I wonder why the previous government did not induct 20 more for it would have been a century of its own kind. Well now something special has happened, the newly elected Baluchistan Assembly has taken for itself 32 ministers. This is the ugliest joke in a series of jokes that the beloved citizens of this country are used to.

What will Baluchistan do with 32 ministers; well I am sure they will all be busy squandering every single penny they can get hold off. Oh yea if they ever get tired of looting and plundering, some time can be spared to make two teams and play 20-20 cricket match, oh yeah I forgot there’s actually no stadium in Baluchistan where you can play cricket. Well there is one in Quetta; it’s more like an abandoned piece of land. 32 ministers for Baluchistan, so we can all imagine how many more will follow for other provinces.

Bush runs USA with 20 cabinet members, out of which 15 are Secretaries (Ministers), and 5 are equivalent of Secretary. Unfortunately we need more ministers than US Government.

This latest God Damn charade in the name of democracy will not last long in Pakistan, Inflation is 25%, and rising and the Wiseman of Gotham have no solution for solving any ills of the society. Actually I am sorry I forgot they are not there to solve the problem of the rotting people or hungry rib bludgeoning tummies, or patients suffering from power outages in government hospital wards, or those who are about to end their lives out of sheer helplessness and misery. King Goon Nawaz, and his Tag team thug Zardari, are here with the lot to fill their bellies with as much flesh of Pakistani people as they can. There after they can rest in peace in there villas in Switzerland, Saudi, UK, Dubai where ever they may be.

Let us remind our audience that right after the 98 Nuclear Tests, Nawaz imposed emergency, then froze all foreign currency accounts of citizens of this traumatized nation. For himself he made sure that banks were open as late as 4 am, so that money could be transferred into his off shore bank accounts. I am sure he needed it when he was living in comfort in Saudi, and habitually performing Umrah.

Our beneficent Mr. 10%, who claims he is here to change the system, (whoever believes that bunch of bulls***, is either high, or receiving personal checks from Z Party, [in fact, Mr. Hamid Mir believes in Zardari, God bless his intellect, or save him from whatever he has been smoking]). Coming back to point yeah Zardari, hmm what can we say, Horses from Argentina, Villas in UK, Dubai, Swiss accounts, 5 sugar mills under his belt in Sind, making him virtual monopolist of sugar in Sind.

With Finance Minister saying that fuel cost to be increase further 25%, serious power crisis looming over our heads, severe food shortages expected, PPP and MQM ready to test each other’s muscles, and last but not the least the never die, Hollywood style lawyers movement raging to go after the red cloth like a bull I am sure we are in for a great journey under the umbrella of Democracy.

THE END OF HISTORY?

“This mic device
I spit nonfiction
who got tha power
this be my question
Tha mass of tha few in this torn nation?
Tha priest tha book or tha congregation?
Tha politricks who rob and hold down your zone?” (Rage against the Machine)

While Musharraf clings onto his seat of power, the nation is being pushed to the brink of disaster. I once wrote that Musharraf’s political journey is on a highway where the end leads to a big pit, and there are very few exits left to take. The last exit is where Musharraf should resign. If Musharraf falls in the pit, he will not fall alone entire nation will fall with him. Unfortunately it seems that Musharraf has chosen to stick it to his opponents for as long as he can. His glory might not be reminiscent of Shah of Iran, but certainly his downfall will be. As Robert Fisk eloquently puts it in his bestseller book “The Great War for Civilization”, “The fall of Shah was an epic. His downfall has about it something of a medieval morality play, even ancient tragedy. It might have qualified as Greek if the Shah had been a truly great man who fell from grace through a single flaw. But he was not a great man and his sins were many. Hubris was perhaps his greatest crime;...One of the most impressive of the revolutionary posters depicted the Shah in his full regalia, crown toppling from his balding head hurtling towards the everlasting bonfire as the avenging Ayatollah swept above him on wings of gold.”

Musharraf’s paranoia has led him to be more isolated than ever before. It’s really ironic to see a leader fall as bad as Musharraf has, I remember his press conference, with Indian journalist at breakfast where for the first time he made the Indian media, people, and the Indian government acknowledge that dialogue with Pakistan is not complete without addressing the root cause of Kashmir problem. He came back from that trip as a hero not accepting any resolution or draft that ignores Kashmir. His recent press conference was also a memorable one to watch, he seemed to have lost some weight, does not wear his uniform often either, kept wiping the sweat off his forehead. After imposing emergency the elite class which had so far supported Musharraf through thick and thin, has also isolated him, because they clearly recognize that the emergency had nothing to do with terrorist or extremist, and it turned out to be a Martial Law. The purpose of which was to punish the media, and judiciary for raising its head against the government. Musharraf and Benazir’s deal also seems to be off for now at least.

The United States has also up the anti against Musharraf, I still think it is just a show for the media, given America’s history of supporting dictators and anti-democratic forces; it is too hard to believe. I think that most of the militant linked to Al-Qaeda operating within Pakistan are covertly supported by CIA, and at the moment they are told to lay low, and wait for the right moment.

As far as the opposition parties are concerned, Jamat-i-Islami showed their real face when their thugs manhandled Imran Khan. Jamat-i-Islami just like Islamic Brotherhood has always proved to be a hurdle in progress of Islamic thought in their respective countries. They have hindered Islamic political growth, totally killed Islamic Research and intellectual thinking. I am convinced that both these parties either knowingly or unknowingly have always acted as a puppet of the United States. Imran Khan could have become more potent force in Pakistan’s politics but unfortunately his alliance with Nawaz Sharif and ANP will only bring him bad name. I think that his movement to mobilize students into anti-Musharraf movement is a good step but again his party doesn’t seem to have the resources or the popular support to gather many students. Student bodies of Jamat, MQM, PPP and other political parties have been around for much longer and are more organized.

Pakistan is in a quagmire, courtesy our friends, in Washington D.C (who needs enemies when you have friends like these), and their stooge Musharraf, the totally undemocratic political parties, and other vested interest both foreign and domestic. The situation in Northern Areas, specially Swat, Waziristan is bleak. Reports coming out of Balochistan are not good either. What is further disturbing is that Indian intelligence agencies have made very strong in roads in Afghanistan since 9/11. There intelligence agencies have build a massive setup there, from there they are planning future destabilizing moves against are national interest. Members of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) are being trained there in Kandahar. CIA has infiltrated the locals in Tribal Areas and Balochistan, for the first time they have direct on ground intelligence from Tribal Areas and Balochistan.

The situation facing Pakistan requires a tough leader. For as the going got tougher Musharraf just got weaker and weaker. Unfortunately I don’t see any real leader emerging who has the courage to pull this country out of the mess it has gotten itself into. Time is of the essence tough, as more time passes; the more it is going to hurt our country and the people of this country. Assault on Judiciary and media are just the first stages of chaos that could engulf us if we don’t rid ourselves off Uncle Sam’s chains of bondage. Let us hope that golden words may be written down in Pakistan’s history. We must act quickly as a nation and rid ourselves of Yankee puppets and their puppet masters for soon time will run out and it will be the end of history!

p.s

“The illegal we do immediately the unconstitutional takes a little longer” ~ Henry Kissinger.

Talha Mujaddidi