Articles of the year 2006

The events at the Bajaur Agency, have caught the Government in an unfortunate situation, with the Political parties, led by the wily Jamaat Islami, hammering away at the violation of the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan.

There are a few facts that should be now considered. If indeed the Karzai Government is being undermined by the faction of the Taliban launched from Pakistan, then as he is a Muslim ruler of a neighbouring Muslim State, it seems to be a turf war, and certainly not Muslim Vs Kafir. What basis is there for the Territory of Pakistan to be used to launch these attacks on a fellow Muslim State? Has Karzai been declared an infidel? It is this spirit of non acceptance of other Muslims that is very dangerous and must be stopped. Is the Taliban Allah different from Karzai's, or ours for that matter? Why have the Jamaatis decided to back the Taliban and the factions supporting Mullah Omar in Afghanistan. As Karzai is the defacto ruler of Afghanistan, why should the attacks be launched to destabilize him, from our territory? It is a dangerous game, for it could leave us open to our own fragile Governments being undermined or shaken or attacked, from time to time.

Surely the Afghanis have a right to some peace, after a horrific thirty years of war, which has left them at the bottom of the ladder for development, and poverty. While the players of the great game have continued the poor Afghans are stuck in their wretched time warp. Surely we Muslims should look at supporting the Afghans find their place in the sun, instead of continuing in their gun battles from which it seems there is no end in sight.Regarding the Bajaur attack, I am reasonably certain that the 'joint' intelligence carried out by the US and Pakistanis, laid out some very convincing evidence of the presence of Al Qaeda in the area. To launch a ground offensive would have been impossible, and to surround them is laughable at best. When dealing with the most sophisticated and hardened terrorist group in the world, it beggars belief that any sane officers would seriously consider the likelihood of success of such a move. Far from it, this failure would go into the annals of the other failures that have gone before.

However, there is a genuine need to know the truth of what happened, and the evidence that was shown to GHQ must now be put in front of the people, warts and all. I do not for a minute believe that the operation was ordered on sketchy or faulty intelligence. It is the duty of the Government to place the facts before us, for at the moment the credibility factor is weighted heavily in favour against the Govt, and the Mullah Politicians are milking it for all its worth. With the number of TV channels on the air, it is not surprising that the Politicians are having a field day. This can only be corrected with the facts, and without any spin. The sooner the better.I cannot think of any more dangerous situation for Pakistan to be in than for us to be told that Zawahiri was actually on our soil as recently as three days ago. Considering he is the World enemy number one, surely harbouring him, will expose Pakistan to the full might of a US attack without our permission. I am sure no Nation at the UN would lift a finger on our behalf, they may even thank the Americans.

The most dangerous aspect of our Mullah's game is that Pakistan may lead to confirmation of state sponsorship of terrorism, (with not a little help from our Indian friends). President Musharraf has done his best in America, and here, to distance himself and Pakistan from these false charges. For these accusations will lead us into a Pariah status or worse. The Indians tried to blame us for the Bombay bombings, but when confronted, they could not produce the necessary evidence. In this case reports indicate that the Madrassah was being used as a training cum launching point. The attack was brought upon the Madrassah by the Mullahs themselves, for to mix the innocent students with some hard core Al-Qaeda deprives the Madressah of any legal cover. Just as in the case of the Geneva convention, the Red Cross will never allow itself to be partisan, for it would lose the protection of the same Geneva Convention.The Madressahs must learn to protect themselves from such activities, or being used as a cover. The Government must learn to Plan and execute such raids with better Media exposure. In this age, wars are fought, won, or lost in the Media more often than on the battlefield.