Pradey ghobal de,Pradey ashar dey
Halta hum za Mram.Dalta hum za Mram
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A Performance by Haroon Bacha: The Singer the Taliban Tried to Silence
Monday, December 28, 2009
Waziristan - A Culture Under Attack
Waziristan - A Culture Under Attack - Trailer of the film. Waziristan is a border area of Pakistan. The area has been occupied by Al-Qaida and Taliban Terrorists. Produced by Hoggrom Films - Norway
Sunday, December 27, 2009
analysis: Tormenting of the tribes —Farhat Taj
analysis: Tormenting of the tribes —Farhat Taj
This is in response to Rafia Zakaria’s article ‘The trouble with tribes’ (Daily Times, November 28, 2009). The writer compared the tribes of the Philippines and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). I have no knowledge about the Philippines’ tribes, therefore, I would not write about them. I would challenge the fabricated notions that the writer attributed to the people of FATA
This is in response to Rafia Zakaria’s article ‘The trouble with tribes’ (Daily Times, November 28, 2009). The writer compared the tribes of the Philippines and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). I have no knowledge about the Philippines’ tribes, therefore, I would not write about them. I would challenge the fabricated notions that the writer attributed to the people of FATA
analysis: Tormenting of the tribes —Farhat Taj
analysis: Tormenting of the tribes —Farhat Taj
This is in response to Rafia Zakaria’s article ‘The trouble with tribes’ (Daily Times, November 28, 2009). The writer compared the tribes of the Philippines and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). I have no knowledge about the Philippines’ tribes, therefore, I would not write about them. I would challenge the fabricated notions that the writer attributed to the people of FATA
This is in response to Rafia Zakaria’s article ‘The trouble with tribes’ (Daily Times, November 28, 2009). The writer compared the tribes of the Philippines and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). I have no knowledge about the Philippines’ tribes, therefore, I would not write about them. I would challenge the fabricated notions that the writer attributed to the people of FATA
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Peace per Pakhtunwali
Peace per Pakhtunwali
By Rafi Ullah
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec20...009/pol1.htm#5
A generally-held belief says that violence is socially-structured in the Pakhtun society. It, however, does not interest us here to contradict this estimation as the situation on the ground seems to prove that. The point to be dwelt on here is to see if peace can be brought in the Pakhtun homeland through its culture — Pakhtunwali. Traditionally, Pakhtunwali is defined as the unwritten code of life, tribal law or constitution of the Pakhtuns. According to Dr Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah, it is "one Pashtoon’s behaviour towards another Pashtoon." But a more judicious definition of Pakhtunwali is to be made by putting it in its historical context.
Pakhtunwali is the secular national culture of the Pakhtuns. It represents the national virtues and customs of the Pakhtuns and, hence, is but their national character. This definition can safely be termed as the historical view of Pakhtunwali. It is much stronger as opposed to the viewpoint projected by Pakhto-poets, such as, Amir Hamza Shinwari and Samandar Khan Samandar. Both of them see no difference between the nature of Islam and the disposition of Pakhtunwali.
As a matter of fact, Pakhtunwali has evolved from the phenomenal historical developments in terms of religion, politics and culture in the Pakhtun land. The fact is supported by Aryan, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist and Graeco-Roman remnants in the Pakhtun culture. Philosopher-poet Ghani Khan, son of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, observes, "Each race has contributed something to his virtues and vices, looks and beliefs, religion and love-songs." This fact clearly dichotomises the religion of Islam and Pakhtunwali and, thus, all efforts of devising compatibility between the two lose weight.
Pakhtunwali is not simple aggregation of some customs like melmastia (hospitality), nanawate (begging pardon), nang (honour and respect), paighor and badal (taunt and revenge), and so on. It is, on the contrary, the worldview the Pakhtuns hold. Its scope extends to religious, secular, political, economic, social, and philanthropic considerations. It provides a space for visual and abstract aesthetics, love affairs, peace and violence and relationship with the aliens. All postulates of Pakhtunwali, in this respect, are deeply rooted in the age-long Pakhtun history and psyche.
There is an intimate and reciprocal correlation between culture and place. "Given that culture manifestly exists, it must exist somewhere, and it exists more concretely and completely in places than in minds or signs," says Edward S. Casey, a distinguished professor of social sciences. In this context, the ongoing crisis in Pakistan and Afghanistan seems to be due to the absence of cultural spaces for native culture — above all for Pakhtunwali. This crisis of Pakhtunwali can be traced back even to the pre-British era but it gets more pronounced in the wake of Western colonialism and the current hidden hand of violence.
A century-old British occupation adversely affected the secular national culture of the Pakhtuns as it created a space for the mullahs’ role. The people, in some cases, rallied behind them for liberating their homeland. But as it was an age of crisis for the Muslim world, the Pakhtun mullahs got involved in Pan-Islamic and puritanical aspirations. And it is here that the cultural space for Pakhtunwali started shrinking as the tug of war between mullahism and colonialism ensued.
In the post-partition era, obsession with Pan-Islamism in Pakistan, the Cold War concerns, and the Afghan jihad eroded all prospects for the survival of cultures in the country. Pakistan’s Taliban adventure, 9/11, and the subsequent developments have virtually brought cultural life in Afghanistan and Pakistan to the brink of ruin. The major sufferers in the whole drama have been the Pakhtuns as "blood is the cheapest commodity" across their homeland. The situation will persist unless and until a viable cultural space has been (re-)created for Pakhtunwali in the Pakhtun land.
How can peace be attained through the culture of Pakhtunwali? For the purpose of simplification, we may take into account some of its core characteristics never noticed by any writer either local or foreign. These are mysticism, secularism, religious tolerance and pluralism. The reinvigoration of these forgotten features of the Pakhtun culture will certainly lead to social harmony and peaceful coexistence.
Mysticism has been the dominant aspect of the religious life in the Pakhtun society throughout history. Dr A. H. Dani writes, "… Gandhara (the land of the Pakhtuns) has been the home of Buddhism which led to the finest creation of Gandhara art and later the sufi Islam with many Muslim saints resting here…."
Majority of the Pakhtun leaders, such as Bit Neeka, Mirwais Neeka, Malikyar, Shekh Milli, Bayazid Ansari (Pir Rokhan), Khushal Khan Khattak, and Ahmad Shah Baba were either sufis or had mystic inclinations. Similarly, Sayyid Ali Tarmezi (Pir Baba), Akhund Darweza, Shekh Rahamkar (Kaka Sahib), Rahman Baba and Abdul Ghaffur (Akhund of Swat/Saidu Baba) were sufis to a reclusive extent. Their khanqahs and mazars have served as centres for social harmony and peace for centuries. The Pakhtuns have been visiting these centres both for spiritual and material considerations.
A couplet by sufi poet, Rahman Baba, says:
So many people pay homage
to them, after their demise,
That the shrines of saints
turn into a sort of bazaar.
A mystic religion naturally leads to religious tolerance. This is also true to the spirit of sufi Islam. Historically, religious tolerance has been an important characteristic of the Pakhtun culture. It had reached its zenith during the Gandhara Civilisation. In recent Pakhtun history, the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement greatly exhibited religious tolerance, let me say, in the true Buddhist spirit and tradition. Similarly, when large parts of the Indian Sub-Continent, on the eve of partition, were engulfed by the raging inferno of Hindu-Muslim riots, the Pakhtuns of Waziristan were saying goodbye to their non-Muslim fellow Waziristanis by hugging them affectionately.
A similar spirit of brotherhood towards non-Muslims was shown in Loralai. A Kakarhai ghaarha, a genre of folklore, by the departing Hindus of Loralai at the time of migration expresses their sentiments: "There can be no greater tragedy in my life than being separated from beloved Makhter (a place)."
The pluralistic vision of the Pakhtun culture makes space for change, development, adaptation, and mutual coexistence. Again, the Gandhara period and the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement are replete with examples in this respect. Similarly, the bazaar at the Pir Baba shrine has been a great evidence of the pluralistic spirit of the Pakhtun society till now.
Lastly, secularism makes Pakhtunwali a dynamic culture, amenable to change. Traditionally, the socio-political and economic spheres of the Pakhtun life have been regulated by hujra (centre for social and political activities) rather than dictated by jumat (mosque). In this sense, the Pakhtuns make a secular society. This fact, beyond doubt, lies at the core of the age-long social harmony in the Pakhtun homeland.
As disproportionate change in recent times has occurred in regard to separation between the realms of religious and mundane, especially in favour of the former, the Pakhtun society is destined to witness social, political and religious disturbances. In this context, it is the need of the hour to direct our collective efforts to the revivalism and renaissance of the true culture of the Pakhtuns, Pakhtunwali, in its historical context.
Email: rafi_ula@yahoo.com
By Rafi Ullah
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec20...009/pol1.htm#5
A generally-held belief says that violence is socially-structured in the Pakhtun society. It, however, does not interest us here to contradict this estimation as the situation on the ground seems to prove that. The point to be dwelt on here is to see if peace can be brought in the Pakhtun homeland through its culture — Pakhtunwali. Traditionally, Pakhtunwali is defined as the unwritten code of life, tribal law or constitution of the Pakhtuns. According to Dr Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah, it is "one Pashtoon’s behaviour towards another Pashtoon." But a more judicious definition of Pakhtunwali is to be made by putting it in its historical context.
Pakhtunwali is the secular national culture of the Pakhtuns. It represents the national virtues and customs of the Pakhtuns and, hence, is but their national character. This definition can safely be termed as the historical view of Pakhtunwali. It is much stronger as opposed to the viewpoint projected by Pakhto-poets, such as, Amir Hamza Shinwari and Samandar Khan Samandar. Both of them see no difference between the nature of Islam and the disposition of Pakhtunwali.
As a matter of fact, Pakhtunwali has evolved from the phenomenal historical developments in terms of religion, politics and culture in the Pakhtun land. The fact is supported by Aryan, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist and Graeco-Roman remnants in the Pakhtun culture. Philosopher-poet Ghani Khan, son of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, observes, "Each race has contributed something to his virtues and vices, looks and beliefs, religion and love-songs." This fact clearly dichotomises the religion of Islam and Pakhtunwali and, thus, all efforts of devising compatibility between the two lose weight.
Pakhtunwali is not simple aggregation of some customs like melmastia (hospitality), nanawate (begging pardon), nang (honour and respect), paighor and badal (taunt and revenge), and so on. It is, on the contrary, the worldview the Pakhtuns hold. Its scope extends to religious, secular, political, economic, social, and philanthropic considerations. It provides a space for visual and abstract aesthetics, love affairs, peace and violence and relationship with the aliens. All postulates of Pakhtunwali, in this respect, are deeply rooted in the age-long Pakhtun history and psyche.
There is an intimate and reciprocal correlation between culture and place. "Given that culture manifestly exists, it must exist somewhere, and it exists more concretely and completely in places than in minds or signs," says Edward S. Casey, a distinguished professor of social sciences. In this context, the ongoing crisis in Pakistan and Afghanistan seems to be due to the absence of cultural spaces for native culture — above all for Pakhtunwali. This crisis of Pakhtunwali can be traced back even to the pre-British era but it gets more pronounced in the wake of Western colonialism and the current hidden hand of violence.
A century-old British occupation adversely affected the secular national culture of the Pakhtuns as it created a space for the mullahs’ role. The people, in some cases, rallied behind them for liberating their homeland. But as it was an age of crisis for the Muslim world, the Pakhtun mullahs got involved in Pan-Islamic and puritanical aspirations. And it is here that the cultural space for Pakhtunwali started shrinking as the tug of war between mullahism and colonialism ensued.
In the post-partition era, obsession with Pan-Islamism in Pakistan, the Cold War concerns, and the Afghan jihad eroded all prospects for the survival of cultures in the country. Pakistan’s Taliban adventure, 9/11, and the subsequent developments have virtually brought cultural life in Afghanistan and Pakistan to the brink of ruin. The major sufferers in the whole drama have been the Pakhtuns as "blood is the cheapest commodity" across their homeland. The situation will persist unless and until a viable cultural space has been (re-)created for Pakhtunwali in the Pakhtun land.
How can peace be attained through the culture of Pakhtunwali? For the purpose of simplification, we may take into account some of its core characteristics never noticed by any writer either local or foreign. These are mysticism, secularism, religious tolerance and pluralism. The reinvigoration of these forgotten features of the Pakhtun culture will certainly lead to social harmony and peaceful coexistence.
Mysticism has been the dominant aspect of the religious life in the Pakhtun society throughout history. Dr A. H. Dani writes, "… Gandhara (the land of the Pakhtuns) has been the home of Buddhism which led to the finest creation of Gandhara art and later the sufi Islam with many Muslim saints resting here…."
Majority of the Pakhtun leaders, such as Bit Neeka, Mirwais Neeka, Malikyar, Shekh Milli, Bayazid Ansari (Pir Rokhan), Khushal Khan Khattak, and Ahmad Shah Baba were either sufis or had mystic inclinations. Similarly, Sayyid Ali Tarmezi (Pir Baba), Akhund Darweza, Shekh Rahamkar (Kaka Sahib), Rahman Baba and Abdul Ghaffur (Akhund of Swat/Saidu Baba) were sufis to a reclusive extent. Their khanqahs and mazars have served as centres for social harmony and peace for centuries. The Pakhtuns have been visiting these centres both for spiritual and material considerations.
A couplet by sufi poet, Rahman Baba, says:
So many people pay homage
to them, after their demise,
That the shrines of saints
turn into a sort of bazaar.
A mystic religion naturally leads to religious tolerance. This is also true to the spirit of sufi Islam. Historically, religious tolerance has been an important characteristic of the Pakhtun culture. It had reached its zenith during the Gandhara Civilisation. In recent Pakhtun history, the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement greatly exhibited religious tolerance, let me say, in the true Buddhist spirit and tradition. Similarly, when large parts of the Indian Sub-Continent, on the eve of partition, were engulfed by the raging inferno of Hindu-Muslim riots, the Pakhtuns of Waziristan were saying goodbye to their non-Muslim fellow Waziristanis by hugging them affectionately.
A similar spirit of brotherhood towards non-Muslims was shown in Loralai. A Kakarhai ghaarha, a genre of folklore, by the departing Hindus of Loralai at the time of migration expresses their sentiments: "There can be no greater tragedy in my life than being separated from beloved Makhter (a place)."
The pluralistic vision of the Pakhtun culture makes space for change, development, adaptation, and mutual coexistence. Again, the Gandhara period and the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement are replete with examples in this respect. Similarly, the bazaar at the Pir Baba shrine has been a great evidence of the pluralistic spirit of the Pakhtun society till now.
Lastly, secularism makes Pakhtunwali a dynamic culture, amenable to change. Traditionally, the socio-political and economic spheres of the Pakhtun life have been regulated by hujra (centre for social and political activities) rather than dictated by jumat (mosque). In this sense, the Pakhtuns make a secular society. This fact, beyond doubt, lies at the core of the age-long social harmony in the Pakhtun homeland.
As disproportionate change in recent times has occurred in regard to separation between the realms of religious and mundane, especially in favour of the former, the Pakhtun society is destined to witness social, political and religious disturbances. In this context, it is the need of the hour to direct our collective efforts to the revivalism and renaissance of the true culture of the Pakhtuns, Pakhtunwali, in its historical context.
Email: rafi_ula@yahoo.com
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
analysis: The Pakhtun, the Taliban and Imran Khan —Farhat Taj
By Farhat taj
Hate for the US is the problem of Imran Khan or his anti-Pakhtun allies. It is not the problem of the people of FATA. Their problem is occupation of their land by the international jihadi gangs. There are clear signs that the people of FATA are cooperating with the Americans in liberating their land from the jihadi occupation.
This is in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s recent declaration that he is ready to mediate and start negotiations with the Taliban to secure a peace agreement if the government is willing to guarantee that it would not scrap the peace deal with them under US pressure. He made this offer in an interview with Dr Moeed Pirzada on a private TV channel. By now Imran Khan stands fully exposed that he is one of the forces of darkness — the jihadi generals like Hamid Gul, the Jamaat-e-Islami and other pan-Islamists like the Deobandis, neo-Wahabis and Akhwan ideologues. Together they have given the Taliban identity to the Pakhtun and caused massacre of over three million of them on both sides of the Durand Line. They continue to destroy the Pakhtun for a great game against India and in the name of global Islamism. It is, however, the duty of all educated Pakhtuns to challenge the bizarre fabrications that Imran Khan attributed to the people of FATA to justify his offer.
Imran Khan said one of the Taliban groups is made of tribesmen who hate the US and attack the state and society in Pakistan because they see the country in alliance with the US. This is a bizarre fantasy of Imran Khan having nothing to do with tribesmen in FATA. There are no tribesmen who are killing innocent civilians and security forces due to anti-US sentiment. The tribesmen who have joined the Taliban groups are seen as criminals by their fellow tribesmen. The tribesmen who have joined the ranks of different Taliban groups are lost to the global jihadi ideology of the al Qaeda and stand stripped of Pakhtunwali. They are no more Pakhtun! They themselves have given up their Pakhtun identity. They claim to fight for global Islam that disrespects ethnic sensitivities.
The militants, in Imran Khan’s own words in the interview, are 15,000. Clearly not all of them are tribesmen. They include the Punjabi Taliban and foreign terrorists. There are no signs that these 15,000 or so terrorists are backed by tribal society. There has never been any grand tribal jirga in any tribal area that backed the terrorists, local or foreign. The Taliban groups in FATA are Hafiz Gul Abrader Groups, Haqqani Group, Mullah Nazeer Group, Turkistan Brittani Group, Tariq Afridi Group, Mangal Bagh Group, and Maulvi Omar Group. These terrorist groups are killing indiscriminately inside and beyond FATA. None of them had ever been backed by tribal jirgas. In fact, some of them have banned jirgas and termed them as ‘un-Islamic’ institutions. These groups have to be crushed for peace in Pakhtunkhwa and wider Pakistan. Anyone seeking dialogue with such groups is the enemy of the Pakhtun and Pakistan.
Hate for the US is the problem of Imran Khan or his anti-Pakhtun allies. It is not the problem of the people of FATA. Their problem is occupation of their land by the international jihadi gangs. There are clear signs that the people of FATA are cooperating with the Americans in liberating their land from the jihadi occupation. The drone strikes could not have been successful in killing so many al Qaeda and Taliban leaders without the help of the people of Waziristan on the ground.
Moreover, the Taliban kill people every single day in Waziristan on suspicion of spying for the US. They think that with terror they can deter the people of Waziristan from coordinating with the Americans. This has not been successful so far. Why is Imran Khan ever so silent over the daily slaughter of innocent people of Waziristan on charges of spying for the US? Are they not tribesmen and women and even human beings?
The most outrageous statement he made is that the assassinated tribal leadership in Waziristan was pro-US. The leadership has been eliminated by the Taliban with state collusion according to the families of the assassinated people. I challenge Imran Khan to prove that even a single person among the assassinated 600-plus tribal leaders, religious scholars, teachers, doctors, etc., was pro-US! Were respectable tribal elders like Shah Alam Wazir, Khandan Mehsud, Mirza Alam Mehsud, Mohammad Nawaz Mehsud, and Farooq Wazir pro-US? The Taliban beheaded Mufti Sibghatullah and killed Maulana Mohammad Hussain, Imam of Godam Mosque, Tank. Does Imran Khan believe that those religious scholars were also pro-US? Imran Khan must tender an unconditional apology to the people of Waziristan, especially to the family of the assassinated people for making this bizarre statement.
Exploiting the infamous anti-Indian stance, he argues that the government of Pakistan is pleasing India by making the soldiers of the Pakistan Army fight with the Taliban. This is the interpretation of the pro-jihadi forces in Pakistan. It is not the view of the people of FATA. This war is not about India or the US. It is about us — the citizens of Pakistan, whose lives are disrupted by the terrorists who are hell bent upon subjugating us to their version of shariah. The jihadi pursuit of our state created these terrorists and it is now the duty of the state to eliminate them if Pakistan has to survive as a modern democratic state.
Both the PPP and the ANP have lost near and dear ones in terrorist acts of the Taliban. They must continue the fight against the Taliban and ignore the offer of Imran Khan, who is in any case not a neutral party but one of the pro-Taliban forces. In this regard I wish to refer to one of the points of the joint declaration of a grand jirga of all democratic political parties, intelligentsia and civil society organisations held in Peshawar on December 12-13, 2009. The declaration says, “All those political or non-political forces that defend the Taliban and Talibanisation in Pakistan in one way or the other like the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Tehreek-e-Insaf and other outfits are considered anti-Pakistan, anti-people and anti-Pakhtun by the people of Pakhtunkhwa.”
The Pakistan Army must continue fighting the Taliban until their complete elimination. The military establishment must know that lack of protection of the state from the Taliban atrocities has already thrown the people of Waziristan into cooperation with the US in terms of spying for the drone attacks on the terrorists occupying the area. A time may not be far when the rest of Pakhtunkhwa will be cooperating with the US. What would become of the federation of Pakistan in such a situation? Up until now most Pakhtuns are loyal to the federation of Pakistan, but this loyalty is definitely not limitless and requires that the state must protect them and their way of life. By eliminating the Taliban, the army must prove that it stands with the Pakhtun who suffer under the Taliban. In the long run, this may be important for a constant inflow of Pakhtun loyalty with the state of Pakistan.
The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy.
She can be reached at bergen34@ yahoo.com
DailyTimes
Hate for the US is the problem of Imran Khan or his anti-Pakhtun allies. It is not the problem of the people of FATA. Their problem is occupation of their land by the international jihadi gangs. There are clear signs that the people of FATA are cooperating with the Americans in liberating their land from the jihadi occupation.
This is in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s recent declaration that he is ready to mediate and start negotiations with the Taliban to secure a peace agreement if the government is willing to guarantee that it would not scrap the peace deal with them under US pressure. He made this offer in an interview with Dr Moeed Pirzada on a private TV channel. By now Imran Khan stands fully exposed that he is one of the forces of darkness — the jihadi generals like Hamid Gul, the Jamaat-e-Islami and other pan-Islamists like the Deobandis, neo-Wahabis and Akhwan ideologues. Together they have given the Taliban identity to the Pakhtun and caused massacre of over three million of them on both sides of the Durand Line. They continue to destroy the Pakhtun for a great game against India and in the name of global Islamism. It is, however, the duty of all educated Pakhtuns to challenge the bizarre fabrications that Imran Khan attributed to the people of FATA to justify his offer.
Imran Khan said one of the Taliban groups is made of tribesmen who hate the US and attack the state and society in Pakistan because they see the country in alliance with the US. This is a bizarre fantasy of Imran Khan having nothing to do with tribesmen in FATA. There are no tribesmen who are killing innocent civilians and security forces due to anti-US sentiment. The tribesmen who have joined the Taliban groups are seen as criminals by their fellow tribesmen. The tribesmen who have joined the ranks of different Taliban groups are lost to the global jihadi ideology of the al Qaeda and stand stripped of Pakhtunwali. They are no more Pakhtun! They themselves have given up their Pakhtun identity. They claim to fight for global Islam that disrespects ethnic sensitivities.
The militants, in Imran Khan’s own words in the interview, are 15,000. Clearly not all of them are tribesmen. They include the Punjabi Taliban and foreign terrorists. There are no signs that these 15,000 or so terrorists are backed by tribal society. There has never been any grand tribal jirga in any tribal area that backed the terrorists, local or foreign. The Taliban groups in FATA are Hafiz Gul Abrader Groups, Haqqani Group, Mullah Nazeer Group, Turkistan Brittani Group, Tariq Afridi Group, Mangal Bagh Group, and Maulvi Omar Group. These terrorist groups are killing indiscriminately inside and beyond FATA. None of them had ever been backed by tribal jirgas. In fact, some of them have banned jirgas and termed them as ‘un-Islamic’ institutions. These groups have to be crushed for peace in Pakhtunkhwa and wider Pakistan. Anyone seeking dialogue with such groups is the enemy of the Pakhtun and Pakistan.
Hate for the US is the problem of Imran Khan or his anti-Pakhtun allies. It is not the problem of the people of FATA. Their problem is occupation of their land by the international jihadi gangs. There are clear signs that the people of FATA are cooperating with the Americans in liberating their land from the jihadi occupation. The drone strikes could not have been successful in killing so many al Qaeda and Taliban leaders without the help of the people of Waziristan on the ground.
Moreover, the Taliban kill people every single day in Waziristan on suspicion of spying for the US. They think that with terror they can deter the people of Waziristan from coordinating with the Americans. This has not been successful so far. Why is Imran Khan ever so silent over the daily slaughter of innocent people of Waziristan on charges of spying for the US? Are they not tribesmen and women and even human beings?
The most outrageous statement he made is that the assassinated tribal leadership in Waziristan was pro-US. The leadership has been eliminated by the Taliban with state collusion according to the families of the assassinated people. I challenge Imran Khan to prove that even a single person among the assassinated 600-plus tribal leaders, religious scholars, teachers, doctors, etc., was pro-US! Were respectable tribal elders like Shah Alam Wazir, Khandan Mehsud, Mirza Alam Mehsud, Mohammad Nawaz Mehsud, and Farooq Wazir pro-US? The Taliban beheaded Mufti Sibghatullah and killed Maulana Mohammad Hussain, Imam of Godam Mosque, Tank. Does Imran Khan believe that those religious scholars were also pro-US? Imran Khan must tender an unconditional apology to the people of Waziristan, especially to the family of the assassinated people for making this bizarre statement.
Exploiting the infamous anti-Indian stance, he argues that the government of Pakistan is pleasing India by making the soldiers of the Pakistan Army fight with the Taliban. This is the interpretation of the pro-jihadi forces in Pakistan. It is not the view of the people of FATA. This war is not about India or the US. It is about us — the citizens of Pakistan, whose lives are disrupted by the terrorists who are hell bent upon subjugating us to their version of shariah. The jihadi pursuit of our state created these terrorists and it is now the duty of the state to eliminate them if Pakistan has to survive as a modern democratic state.
Both the PPP and the ANP have lost near and dear ones in terrorist acts of the Taliban. They must continue the fight against the Taliban and ignore the offer of Imran Khan, who is in any case not a neutral party but one of the pro-Taliban forces. In this regard I wish to refer to one of the points of the joint declaration of a grand jirga of all democratic political parties, intelligentsia and civil society organisations held in Peshawar on December 12-13, 2009. The declaration says, “All those political or non-political forces that defend the Taliban and Talibanisation in Pakistan in one way or the other like the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Tehreek-e-Insaf and other outfits are considered anti-Pakistan, anti-people and anti-Pakhtun by the people of Pakhtunkhwa.”
The Pakistan Army must continue fighting the Taliban until their complete elimination. The military establishment must know that lack of protection of the state from the Taliban atrocities has already thrown the people of Waziristan into cooperation with the US in terms of spying for the drone attacks on the terrorists occupying the area. A time may not be far when the rest of Pakhtunkhwa will be cooperating with the US. What would become of the federation of Pakistan in such a situation? Up until now most Pakhtuns are loyal to the federation of Pakistan, but this loyalty is definitely not limitless and requires that the state must protect them and their way of life. By eliminating the Taliban, the army must prove that it stands with the Pakhtun who suffer under the Taliban. In the long run, this may be important for a constant inflow of Pakhtun loyalty with the state of Pakistan.
The writer is a research fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Research, University of Oslo and a member of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy.
She can be reached at bergen34@ yahoo.com
DailyTimes
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Renowned journalist Sohail Qalandar passes away
Sohail Qalandar, one of the very few courageous, anti-Taliban and anti-terrorism voices in Pakistani journalism, is no longer with us.
:http://criticalppp.org/lubp/archives/2510
By: sudhir
Peshawar: Renowned journalist passed away here on Saturday. Sohail Qalanadar, resident editor of Daily Express Peshawar all of a sudden felt serious pain his chest and was hurriedly shifted to Lady Reading hospital Peshawar where he breathed his last. Journalists thronged to the hospital to see his corpse as it will be the last time they would have a glance at him. Journalist community has felt shock over his tragic demise. They have mourned over his death and remembered his services as a journalist for this whole region.
Sohail Qalandar had been kidnapped and kept in custody in Bara area for a long time, but was released on the pressure from journalists’ community.
Sohail Qalandar was a bold and courageous journalist and columnist. He always wrote for peace and development of this Pushtoon belt. His services as a journalist would be remembered for long time. In his student life he also played a very active role on the platform of Islami Jamiat Talaba, a student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. But later on when he joined journalism as a profession, he forgot about practical politics and worked as a neutral journalist.
He was equally popular among the political groups as he proved his neutrality while reporting or writing on political and social issues. The tribal journalists have also mourned over his demise saying his great services in the field of journalism would always be remembered. They prayed to Allah Almighty to grant his soul eternal peace and happiness in paradise.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/4793580-famous-journalist-sohail-qalandar-passes-away
:http://criticalppp.org/lubp/archives/2510
By: sudhir
Peshawar: Renowned journalist passed away here on Saturday. Sohail Qalanadar, resident editor of Daily Express Peshawar all of a sudden felt serious pain his chest and was hurriedly shifted to Lady Reading hospital Peshawar where he breathed his last. Journalists thronged to the hospital to see his corpse as it will be the last time they would have a glance at him. Journalist community has felt shock over his tragic demise. They have mourned over his death and remembered his services as a journalist for this whole region.
Sohail Qalandar had been kidnapped and kept in custody in Bara area for a long time, but was released on the pressure from journalists’ community.
Sohail Qalandar was a bold and courageous journalist and columnist. He always wrote for peace and development of this Pushtoon belt. His services as a journalist would be remembered for long time. In his student life he also played a very active role on the platform of Islami Jamiat Talaba, a student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. But later on when he joined journalism as a profession, he forgot about practical politics and worked as a neutral journalist.
He was equally popular among the political groups as he proved his neutrality while reporting or writing on political and social issues. The tribal journalists have also mourned over his demise saying his great services in the field of journalism would always be remembered. They prayed to Allah Almighty to grant his soul eternal peace and happiness in paradise.
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/4793580-famous-journalist-sohail-qalandar-passes-away
Waziristan - A Culture Under Attack - Trailer of the film.
Waziristan - A Culture Under Attack - Trailer of the film.
Waziristan is a border area of Pakistan. The area has been occupied by Al-Qaida and Taliban Terrorists. Produced by Hoggrom Films - Norway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a31sSSEmBQ8
also read;
http://www.ps.au.dk/fileadmin/site_f...aj_ENGELSK.pdf
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Waziristan is a border area of Pakistan. The area has been occupied by Al-Qaida and Taliban Terrorists. Produced by Hoggrom Films - Norway
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a31sSSEmBQ8
also read;
http://www.ps.au.dk/fileadmin/site_f...aj_ENGELSK.pdf
__________________
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