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WEEKLY
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| Confusion over war on terror |
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Saturday, November 14, 2009
One of the reasons it is so difficult to root out terrorists from Pakistan is that too many Pakistanis are easily fooled by anyone wearing the mask of Islam. They would much rather see the enemy as 'foreign powers', namely India, Israel and the US. These feelings are so deep-seated among such Pakistanis that they still refuse to believe that 'fellow Muslims', i.e. the Taliban or Al Qaeda, would target innocent Pakistanis. And this after a period of years, after thousands of Pakistanis have been attacked, after the Al Qaeda leader, Ayman Muhammad Rabaie al-Zawahiri, has openly declared his intention to wreak havoc on Pakistan on more than one occasion, and after the Al Qaeda presence has been literally unveiled before TV cameras by the Pakistan army after some Libyans, Egyptians and Saudis were caught trying to escape wearing burqas during the Operation Rah-e-Rast in Swat.
Such obviously stupid talk does no harm to India, Israel or the US. However, it does tremendous harm to Pakistan -- because it confuses the response to enemy attacks and does nothing for the morale of the soldiers and the police actually tasked with defending Pakistan from these attackers. After all, 'know your enemy' is the fundamental tenet during wartime. Yes, my beloved countrymen, it is so-called 'Muslims' who are seeking to break up a part of Pakistan for themselves. It is so-called 'Muslims' who have been butchering captives, beating poor villagers, sending suicide bombers to blow up ordinary Pakistanis. Please have the good sense and moral courage to face facts.
I was very supportive of individuals like Imran Khan, Hamid Mir and even of Jamaat-e-Islami for the role they played during the lawyers' movement. Now, I am very sorry to say, they are nothing more than the witless accomplices of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. And in this way at least, they are no different than the individuals who have been fooled by the mask of Islam to don suicide jackets and maim and murder innocent people.
Tauheed Ahmed,
Gaithersburg, US
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Dr Najeeb A Khan and Dr Fareeha Khanum (November 12) have convincingly rebutted that the war against terrorists in our tribal areas is being fought on someone else's behalf. Although external factors contributed to land us in this deplorable situation, our successive governments failed to take effective and timely action to deal with it. The foreign elements were offered to surrender arms, get themselves registered and live peacefully in Pakistan. Ignoring the offer, they killed personnel of South Waziristan scouts. Half-hearted efforts, negotiations and broken deals brought about a situation where the capital of the country itself faced a Taliban takeover threat.
The Operation Rah-e-Rast in Malakand division is a most outstanding example of a complex and difficult operation successfully conducted in a very short period of time. I salute all those involved in the planning and conduct of this operation, particularly the SSG of the army. The affected civilian population deserves accolades for bearing the difficulties of dislocation, death and destruction with courage and fortitude. Successors of mullahs who opposed the creation of Pakistan are at the forefront in propounding the cause of terrorists. We all need to counter their perverted logic and influence.
Colonel (r) Nazir Ahmed
Islamabad
*****
This is in reference to the letters by Dr Najeeb Khan and Dr Fareeha Khanum (Nov 12). The two writers described the ongoing war in the tribal areas in their own ways. Both think that terrorists in the tribal areas had their extremist agenda even before 9/11. Dr Khanum referred to the sectarian clashes rampant in the 90s while Dr Khan asserted that the extremists in the tribal areas wanted to impose their religious views on the tribesmen. I believe that the sectarian conflict has little to do with the situation in FATA and is of minor consequence in view of a major war going on there. The main issue, however, is whether the war is ours. It isn't. We have no right to impose our way of life on the tribesmen who are, by and large, religious.
Our enemy has created a situation in which our army is likely to remain embroiled for a long time to come. When the US-led NATO forces, armed to teeth, have failed to put down the Taliban resistance in Afghanistan, how can we succeed in our Afghan-Pakistan border areas? Particularly when the US is secretly negotiating peace deals with the Taliban, why must we be against talking to the Pakistani Taliban?
Prof Fajune Pirzada
Lahore
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This is with reference to the letter titled "Where's the spirit of the nation?" by Sirajuddin Aziz (November 9). The nation is not responding to the barbarism of the Taliban with the zeal they responded to the lawyers' movement. I would say that this is primarily because of politicians and the media. They highlighted the mistakes of Gen Musharraf but never appreciated the good work done by him. Politicians and the media never supported him on his fight against terrorism.
After so many years of war now when the terrorists are hitting us badly we have realised the gravity of the situation. Earlier, politicians and the media never highlighted this issue because the 'dictator' would always speak against terrorism. It's time politicians and the media played their role and helped the government and the army curb militancy.
Amin Sheerazi
PMA Kakul, Abbotabad
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ISSN 1563-9479 
