The Scourge of Taliban

Much has been said and written about this relatively newly coined term 'Talibanization', in the context of Pakistan and Karachi itself. The 'Talibans' from Afghanistan have poured in across the border in their hundreds following the US invasion, something which US secretary of state accepted last week in her address along with general attitude towards Pakistan. I think there should be no ways about it, the Taliban have been operating inside Pakistani territory with impunity for far too long and something needs to be done about it.

The Taliban ideology is in many ways similar to the Kharjites - La Hukma Illa Lillah (No Ruler ship except by Allah alone) ideology and represents an extremist view of the religion that defies logic and common sense.

Meanwhile, the government, in its eternal incompetence, knew that there was no semblance of its writ left in certain northern areas of Pakistan but continued to delay when an operation seemed inevitable. And the poor populace (hundreds of thousands!) were the sufferers as they were caught in the crossfire and left with no option but to flee their homes. Can you imagine leaving your homes and everything else behind like that? It is a sacrifice of great magnitude and it is our duty as fellow citizens to help these people in their hour of need.

There are also stories of great personal heroics of Pakistan Army officers. Examples like the one of Major Abid Shaheed and Captain Bilal Shaheed reaffirm our faith in the exceptional ability of our armed forces to get the job done. The public opinion is in their favor and with each terrorist attack that is carried out by the Taliban, the more alienated they become and the sooner, god willing, they will be flushed out. Attacks in Lahore and Peshawar this past week are proof that the Taliban are desperate and retaliating in their own cowardly way.

Again, I agree with Anas when he says that this would have been expected of them and security agencies should have been better prepared and equipped to prevent such attempts. As I said the other day, I have serious doubts whether we will ever be able to rid ourselves from these blasts given the inefficiency with which our police force operates. As Kulsoom pointed out in her post following the Lahore blast, it was third time in three months that Lahore was hit which goes to show that terrorists continue to operate freely inside Pakistan and no major attacks have been averted of late. Can you think of any?

Some time back, I posted about the heinous sectarian violence being committed by the very same Taliban in Kurram Agency, Parachinar in particular. It is high time that this operation is extended towards the areas bordering Afghanistan and all such miscreants are driven out of Parachinar, again, something which should have been dealt with much much earlier. But the menace is here and is spreading out of control and needs to be curtailed right now. There are no 'good' or 'bad' Taliban anymore. Anyone who has the audacity of taking up arms against the state and refuses to come to the negotiation table needs to be dealt with in the most strictest way possible.

Also worth reading is Karachi Khatmal's excellent post on the Taliban.

Help the Displaced of Swat

Echoing the appeal for the displaced people of Swat valley, I would like to urge everyone to donate generously to this cause. The number of displaced people has overwhelmed the authorities and it is up to us to help our fellow countrymen in their hour of need. SARelief.com have compiled a list of organizations that you can donate to.

You can also join with Dr. Awab Alvi aka Teeth Maestro, who's himself on a personal fund-raising drive. It only costs 37 bucks to get a hamper of relief goods to one family, so do chip in.

If you're in the US, you can text "SWAT" (without the quotes) to 20222 and donate $5 to UNHCR that will go towards the Swat Valley relief efforts. Thanks to Kulsoom for this info.

P.S. I've also added a widget on the right-hand side of this page that can be used to place online donations. The donations go to Paksef. More about them here. You can customize the widget and put it on your blog too! Click here to do so.

Scenes from Pakistan

I came across bilishy's post about a Boston.com story entitled Scenes from Pakistan which is aimed at depicting the current situation prevalent in Pakistan, .

It was interesting going through the comments in that post. Apart from the inane and moronic views of some trolls, it was nice to see some positive comments from others that really put the situation into perspective. As for my opinion, I think the pictures paint a very bleak and gory picture of Pakistan (NWFP in particular), not that it isn't half-true or anything. The recent truce with the Taliban in the Swat valley is something to be concerned about. While it will bring much-needed peace to the region, what remains to be seen is the concessions the Taliban are willing to make (if any) in imposing their Shariah law in the region. I would be gutted to see if girls' schools continue to remain closed under the new truce. That would undoubtedly signal a defeat for us hopeful of making Swat the wonderful tourist destination it once was.

But Swat is not our only problem at the moment. The Taliban element that seems to have grown more and more on our side of the border in the wake of the US invasion has also resulted in an increase in sectarian violence, particular in Kurram Agency and Parachinar. I'm surprised no leader of ours hasn't said that in public especially when the Americans have the audacity to question our intentions in fighting this war on terror.

The collection of pictures, overall, was very moving. Just goes to show the dire straits our beautiful country finds itself in. If there was any time we needed some really sincere leadership, it is NOW but sadly look who we have for a leader!. Recent events like this don't exactly fill you with confidence either.

On the eve of the US Election

The clock is about to strike midnight here on the east coast, and polling is set to begin in the morning in an election that's being billed as pretty historic. Speaking strictly from an American point-of-view, I think there's no doubt Obama's the better candidate. He represents a kind of change that is needed here after 8 years of idiotic rule that has resulted in mindless invasions and shit leadership culminating in an economic meltdown the likes of which they haven't seen since the Great Depression of the 20s.

But speaking from a point-of-view of a Pakistani and a Muslim, there's little distinction to be made among the two candidates. They're both ridiculously pro-Israel, and they both want to continue bombing border areas of Pakistan in an attempt to kill militants. There's one thing about Obama that has pissed off more than anything, his incessant drivel and posturing about Pakistan "not doing enough" in the war on terror. I've said many a times now on god knows how many blog comment sections: would you just look at the current condition of Pakistan for a freaking second? We're reeling with suicide bombings for the last couple of years the likes of which we haven't seen before. Our army is fighting anti-establishment forces in Baluchistan and FATA with no end to that in sight. And lastly and perhaps most worryingly, there's an ever-growing influence of Taliban in the country. The once peaceful and stunningly beautiful region of Swat now lies in ruins, with its tourism all but finished. Need I say more? There have been several other instances where Obama has made such reckless comments about Pakistan and how it is still not doing enough, when we've been dealing with the effects of their invasion into Afghanistan all along. Joe Biden, on the other hand, seems to have a much better and sensible head on his shoulders when it comes to Pakistan and the War on Terror. I'd rather have him as the President to be honest. But anyway, we'll have to wait and see who the American people choose as their President tomorrow. Here's hoping they don't end up regretting it once again.

Parachinar Burns!

I had been wanting to do a post about the dire situation prevalent in Parachinar for some time now. Ali Hasnain posted a good blog entry about it the other day, and this is more or less along the same lines of what he said.

First of all, I am shocked and aghast at the lack of coverage given to such a grave situation inside our country. Just doing a query on Google News using the keyword 'parachinar' reveals the amount of killing that has been going on over there - and this is just what is being reported. Sad stories of people's livelihoods being destroyed - like the one on Ali's blog - are surely more common than this news stories would have us believe. People are dying by the scores in an all-out war reminiscent of the stone ages, the only difference is that both sides claim to be "Muslims". Sectarian violence is rife in the Kurram Agency and Parachinar area as the tribes are at each other's throats. Where are the self-proclaimed "Independent" news networks now?! Do they not not consider this news-worthy because it's in a desolate region of the country?! I urge local and international news organizations to do justice to the people of that troubled region and let the world know of the air of inhumanity and sectarian strife that is prevalent over there at the moment. People are being butchered over there every day and nobody seems to give a damn anymore!

A handful of stories have been on the local and international front but certainly not enough. Yesterday, we saw a positive development in the region in the form of a peace jirga. Here's hoping things materialize on that front before the Taliban get a chance to screw things up again. Parachinar and Pakistan's other frontier regions have been the victim of a Taliban insuregency ever since the Americans invaded Afghanistan. The ensuing conflict has literally obliterated the tourism industry of that region, and such beautiful places and others (Swat etc.) have sadly been marred by conflict for months now.

While our leaders are busy flirting with the likes of Palin, things back home are spiraling out of control, the Marriott bombing being the perfect proof of that. If they can hit us in one of the most "secure" areas, then there's no telling what kind of death and destruction they can bring provided they get their hands of bigger, stronger and more advanced explosives, which they seemingly are now getting. The future, in the meantime, does not look bright.