Immediately after the Lahore blast on 27 May, Rana Sana, the Punjabi Law Minister went hysterical with the typical Pakistani conspiracy theory: It is India who is behind every mischief in Pakistan. On every channel he was harping on “the Indian hand”. Within minutes his allegation was echoing all over Pakistan. Rana Sana did not offer any insight by way of even a semblance of proof.
A few hours later, Shahbaz Sharif, Rana Sana’s boss, visited a hospital to speak to the injured. Some journalists prodded him to repeat Rana Sana’s India-bashing banality. But he was wiser: “Without proof we cannot accuse anyone.”
A few hours later Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of Pakistani Taliban, confirmed that he was behind the blast. Rana Sana did not have decency to apologize for his lie.
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Editor's Choice
Friday, 29 May 2009
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Imran Khan moron, Stop confusing poor Pakistanis !
Swat's last stand
By Noor Khan
When a military operation first started in Waziristan and after it was stopped in the middle, one politician voiced sense: Imran Khan. As he says in his article in The News on May 23, the operation in Waziristan did indeed have a role in the destruction of the political and tribal social structure of that area. It is possible that in those first uncomplicated stages, the government could have used the existing system of law and order to eliminate the terrorists who did cross over from Afghanistan or at least make it impossible for them to find sanctuary in that locality. Tribal elders in Waziristan ensured law and order along with the representative of the government, the political agent and his khasadars. When the Taliban rose to prominence in Waziristan and a military operation was launched against them, the elders formed lashkars and worked alongside the army in a bid to eliminate them. But this is where Imran Khan grabbed the wrong end of the snake and still clings to it, doggedly ignoring the free venomous end.
It was not the operation itself, but the disastrous interruption of it and negotiation of a peace deal with the militants that is the root cause of the present condition of Waziristan and its immediate neighbours. The peace deal launched a warped ceasefire. This gave the Taliban time to cut off the right arm of the government in Waziristan: the influential local elders who had anchored acceptance of the government ever since becoming part of Pakistan.
The government adhered to the ceasefire devoutly while truckloads of Uzbeks and Tajiks murdered over 200 Waziristani Maliks in targeted killings. Lack of leaders resulted in unshackled bonds of tribal loyalty and lack of protection from the government drove the people to join the men who were emerging to the top of the new hierarchy. It was only a matter of time before the insurgency spilled over to the neighbouring districts. Like most Pakhtuns, I say the only feasible solution at this stage is a complete military operation resulting in the confirmed elimination of the leadership of the Taliban in Swat and ensuring that they do not return after the area is cleared. If it is abandoned in the middle yet again, the much-reduced supporters of the government will be finished off, and Swat will become as hostile as Waziristan. Critics of the operation like Shireen Mazari, Imran khan and Omar Sarfraz Cheema believe force should have been used as a last option. Is confessed guilt of suicide bombings, arson, theft, mass murder and continuous reneging on deals not enough reason to dispense with talks?
The people of Swat are living in a situation of constant fear. When our loved ones are alive, we fear for their safety, when they are taken away, there is anguish over whether they will come back alive, when they are murdered, there is terror that their bodies will be left for scavengers to feed on, when they are returned, whole or in parts, there is the torment of giving them half-Muslim, secret burials in unmarked graves and when they are buried, there is constant dread of their graves being desecrated and their corpses being subjected to dishonour and humiliation. Our children are taken away and turned into monsters; our men are forced to lay down their lives to murder innocents and our sisters are dragged out of their homes by disappointed suitors and flogged publicly for imaginary crimes.When the people of Swat were being terrorised the PTI pretended all was well, but now that they can no longer ignore the multitudes suffering in their backyard, they scream for them to be sent back. To save us from the lion, Imran Khan would shove us into the snake pit. Instead of offering solutions now, he laments that his proposals were not implemented in the beginning. In his article of May 23, he says the government broke the peace deal, when the whole country knows the government was dragged kicking and scratching to the end of it by the Taliban.
It is after the battle that the war will begin. If the army is to go to Waziristan as the president says, Swat might be left short of sentinels to prevent the Taliban from returning to cleared areas. Preferably, the impending operation in Waziristan should be delayed till Swat is secured and, most importantly, the IDPs resettled, or the whole could unravel disastrously.
A solution for Swat has been repeatedly offered by Mohammad Afzal Khan Lala, who has decades of experience of tribal warfare and peacetime politics. This is the advice that should be heard, because it is strongly seconded by the leaders of the various tribes which live in Swat, as opposed to visiting hotshots who think they know what is good for the region.The exodus of influential community figures must be reversed. They must be armed and charged with the safe-keeping of the people they are accountable for, like their counterparts, the Salarzai and Bunerwal Lashkars. Their familiarity with the local ways and people coupled with regular support from the army will ensure their success. Defence committees in villages in close proximity will offer security to each other once the IDPs have returned home. Ideally, a permanent army or FC cantonment should be established in the heart of the present Taliban stronghold.This is the last stand for Swat. The recent deal, which Imran Khan says lasted "two weeks," has been used by the militants to build bunkers, dig tunnels, lay mines, secure weapons and ammunition, set up hundreds of training camps and firmly enmesh their presence into the social fabric of Swat. What would they accomplish in the "decades" Imran Khan's supporters wish to give them? Never again might the country be so unanimous in support for the government and the army. One thing is certain: if this threat is not dealt with now, it probably never will be dealt with at all.
The writer is a resident of Swat who had to flee her home and is currently living in Islamabad. Email: noorkhan47@hotmail.com
(The News International)
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By Noor Khan
When a military operation first started in Waziristan and after it was stopped in the middle, one politician voiced sense: Imran Khan. As he says in his article in The News on May 23, the operation in Waziristan did indeed have a role in the destruction of the political and tribal social structure of that area. It is possible that in those first uncomplicated stages, the government could have used the existing system of law and order to eliminate the terrorists who did cross over from Afghanistan or at least make it impossible for them to find sanctuary in that locality. Tribal elders in Waziristan ensured law and order along with the representative of the government, the political agent and his khasadars. When the Taliban rose to prominence in Waziristan and a military operation was launched against them, the elders formed lashkars and worked alongside the army in a bid to eliminate them. But this is where Imran Khan grabbed the wrong end of the snake and still clings to it, doggedly ignoring the free venomous end.
It was not the operation itself, but the disastrous interruption of it and negotiation of a peace deal with the militants that is the root cause of the present condition of Waziristan and its immediate neighbours. The peace deal launched a warped ceasefire. This gave the Taliban time to cut off the right arm of the government in Waziristan: the influential local elders who had anchored acceptance of the government ever since becoming part of Pakistan.
The government adhered to the ceasefire devoutly while truckloads of Uzbeks and Tajiks murdered over 200 Waziristani Maliks in targeted killings. Lack of leaders resulted in unshackled bonds of tribal loyalty and lack of protection from the government drove the people to join the men who were emerging to the top of the new hierarchy. It was only a matter of time before the insurgency spilled over to the neighbouring districts. Like most Pakhtuns, I say the only feasible solution at this stage is a complete military operation resulting in the confirmed elimination of the leadership of the Taliban in Swat and ensuring that they do not return after the area is cleared. If it is abandoned in the middle yet again, the much-reduced supporters of the government will be finished off, and Swat will become as hostile as Waziristan. Critics of the operation like Shireen Mazari, Imran khan and Omar Sarfraz Cheema believe force should have been used as a last option. Is confessed guilt of suicide bombings, arson, theft, mass murder and continuous reneging on deals not enough reason to dispense with talks?
The people of Swat are living in a situation of constant fear. When our loved ones are alive, we fear for their safety, when they are taken away, there is anguish over whether they will come back alive, when they are murdered, there is terror that their bodies will be left for scavengers to feed on, when they are returned, whole or in parts, there is the torment of giving them half-Muslim, secret burials in unmarked graves and when they are buried, there is constant dread of their graves being desecrated and their corpses being subjected to dishonour and humiliation. Our children are taken away and turned into monsters; our men are forced to lay down their lives to murder innocents and our sisters are dragged out of their homes by disappointed suitors and flogged publicly for imaginary crimes.When the people of Swat were being terrorised the PTI pretended all was well, but now that they can no longer ignore the multitudes suffering in their backyard, they scream for them to be sent back. To save us from the lion, Imran Khan would shove us into the snake pit. Instead of offering solutions now, he laments that his proposals were not implemented in the beginning. In his article of May 23, he says the government broke the peace deal, when the whole country knows the government was dragged kicking and scratching to the end of it by the Taliban.
It is after the battle that the war will begin. If the army is to go to Waziristan as the president says, Swat might be left short of sentinels to prevent the Taliban from returning to cleared areas. Preferably, the impending operation in Waziristan should be delayed till Swat is secured and, most importantly, the IDPs resettled, or the whole could unravel disastrously.
A solution for Swat has been repeatedly offered by Mohammad Afzal Khan Lala, who has decades of experience of tribal warfare and peacetime politics. This is the advice that should be heard, because it is strongly seconded by the leaders of the various tribes which live in Swat, as opposed to visiting hotshots who think they know what is good for the region.The exodus of influential community figures must be reversed. They must be armed and charged with the safe-keeping of the people they are accountable for, like their counterparts, the Salarzai and Bunerwal Lashkars. Their familiarity with the local ways and people coupled with regular support from the army will ensure their success. Defence committees in villages in close proximity will offer security to each other once the IDPs have returned home. Ideally, a permanent army or FC cantonment should be established in the heart of the present Taliban stronghold.This is the last stand for Swat. The recent deal, which Imran Khan says lasted "two weeks," has been used by the militants to build bunkers, dig tunnels, lay mines, secure weapons and ammunition, set up hundreds of training camps and firmly enmesh their presence into the social fabric of Swat. What would they accomplish in the "decades" Imran Khan's supporters wish to give them? Never again might the country be so unanimous in support for the government and the army. One thing is certain: if this threat is not dealt with now, it probably never will be dealt with at all.
The writer is a resident of Swat who had to flee her home and is currently living in Islamabad. Email: noorkhan47@hotmail.com
(The News International)
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Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Al-Qaeda Men start practising Sunnah of Mullah Abdul Aziz aka Burqa-Posh Moulvi !
Five burqa-clad Arabs arrested in Mohmand
GHALANAI: At least 13 militants were killed in a clash with security forces following arrest of five burqa-clad Arabs, one Afghan national and a local man in Mohmand Agency on Tuesday.
Four of the five Arabs are Saudi nationals — Ahmed, Ali, Mohammad and Obaidullah — and one Libyan national, Abdullah. The Afghan national has been identified as Habibullah and the local man as Shad Ali. They were detained at the Khapakh checkpost. The Afghan was living in Chakdara area of Lower Dir.
When troops were taking the detained men to Ghalanai, about 60 militants attacked them in an area between Ziyari Kando and Nasapai. The clash continued for more than two hours, an official spokesman said.
Security forces shelled militants’ positions from Ghalanai with mortars and cannons. Thirteen terrorists were killed and the others escaped. Two vehicles of militants were destroyed, the spokesman said.
Security personnel brought the body of one militant to the Ghalanai FC camp; the other bodies were taken away by the attackers. The administration sealed all entry points to the tribal region and beefed up security to apprehend the fleeing militants.
Troops also launched a search operation in Mian Mandi Bazaar.
A jirga of tribal elders will be held in Ghalanai on Wednesday to discuss the presence of militants, including foreigners, in the area.
The spokesman said the detained militants had been hiding in Kareer Qandaharo and Kung Khwayzai for several days and they had attacked the Khapakh post.
‘They came to Pakistan via Afghanistan which is financing them,’ he alleged.
He said SMGs, hand-grenades, Kalashnikovs, passports and other important documents had been seized from them and their vehicle had been impounded. (Daily Dawn)
Four of the five Arabs are Saudi nationals — Ahmed, Ali, Mohammad and Obaidullah — and one Libyan national, Abdullah. The Afghan national has been identified as Habibullah and the local man as Shad Ali. They were detained at the Khapakh checkpost. The Afghan was living in Chakdara area of Lower Dir.
When troops were taking the detained men to Ghalanai, about 60 militants attacked them in an area between Ziyari Kando and Nasapai. The clash continued for more than two hours, an official spokesman said.
Security forces shelled militants’ positions from Ghalanai with mortars and cannons. Thirteen terrorists were killed and the others escaped. Two vehicles of militants were destroyed, the spokesman said.
Security personnel brought the body of one militant to the Ghalanai FC camp; the other bodies were taken away by the attackers. The administration sealed all entry points to the tribal region and beefed up security to apprehend the fleeing militants.
Troops also launched a search operation in Mian Mandi Bazaar.
A jirga of tribal elders will be held in Ghalanai on Wednesday to discuss the presence of militants, including foreigners, in the area.
The spokesman said the detained militants had been hiding in Kareer Qandaharo and Kung Khwayzai for several days and they had attacked the Khapakh post.
‘They came to Pakistan via Afghanistan which is financing them,’ he alleged.
He said SMGs, hand-grenades, Kalashnikovs, passports and other important documents had been seized from them and their vehicle had been impounded. (Daily Dawn)
Also Read:
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Sunday, 17 May 2009
Taliban's hypocrisy is in fact Pakistan’s national trait
Muslim Khan, the spokesman of Pakistani Taliban, has won unprecedented notoriety for justifying beheading, flogging, and digging up and hanging the dead. He has a personal stake in propagating the kind of education Muslims of the world must have. Or must not have. He has justified the bombing of schools on many pretexts, but one stands out: Muslims must not get “English” education. By which Muslim Khan means that any school which has anything to do with the English language must be demolished. The Taliban have so far demolished hundreds of schools in the name of cleansing education of the Western-infidel influence. Pakistan’s Islamo-fascist Urdu media has always given him a lot of coverage making him a national folk hero who has stood up to the United States and her Pakistani lackeys.
At long last, someone found out that Muslim Khan’s own son is a graduate student at the University of Peshawar and the medium of his education is English. When the question about his son was tossed to him, the great Muslim Khan was philosophical: “My son is disobedient!” The filed closed. No more questions please.
Judging by Muslim Khan’s own Islamist criteria, his prodigal son is a double whammy: getting English education and being a disobedient son. Can there be a greater sin than filial disobedience which implies filial ingratitude? Plus the infidel English education. And yet Muslim Khan will not slaughter his son nor let any of his fellow Taliban do it. But he will flog and behead anyone else’s boys and girls for countless petty acts like a girl’s leaving home without being chaperoned by an adult male.
This is not just Taliban hypocrisy; this is typical Pakistani hypocrisy.
I have studied, visited, and lived in a number of countries. I have always tried to understand how Pakistani expatriate communities live. I can report a lot of incidents, but I will narrate only of which I have had the very first hand experience.
In a Muslim country there was a Pakistani who in the mid 1990s who terrorized not just the Pakistanis, but anyone he could get hold of. All in the name of Islam. Mullah F was his name, and he was a zealous member of the Tablighi Jamaat, and saw to it that he conveyed the message of Islam to as many non-Muslims and non-Wahabis as he could. One evening, as my wife and I were being treated to a diner by a Sri Lankan friend and his wife, Mullah F came over with the two religious police officers. Without greeting any one of us, Mullah F told my friend’s wife that she had been living in sin because she was a Muslim and her husband a Buddhist. The husband and wife were too scared and my wife and I were too dumbfounded to say anything. After Mullah F and the religious officers left, my friend who had taught mathematics in a Karachi school for a few years exhausted his repertoire of four-letters words for the unwelcome guests. Soon fearing the mighty hand of the possible Islamist inquisition, the couple left the country for good and settled in Auckland where they live a happy life with their three children.
Mullah F had many rabbits up his. His favorite pastime, apart from proselytizing, was to embarrass and insult Pakistanis who had acquired permanent residence in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In Pakistani gatherings he would tell in a loud voice that those who had obtained permanent residence in “those infidel countries” would have their daughters turned into prostitutes and sons into pimps who would end up marrying the infidels. He would also say that in an infidel country like Australia or Canada, people lived haram lives.
To his credit, Mullah F’s made his wife and three daughters live in complete purdah, and you could not even see his wife’s hands which had gloves on all the time. And life went on till my friend Mr. Shah came over one evening and asked me to accompany him. He wanted to see Mullah F. I protested. I had never even spoken to him and vice versa. Besides, I wanted to stay away from the filthy mouth of the man. But Mr. Shah had breaking news: Mullah F had not only obtained Australian permanent residence, he had just returned from Darwin in Australia after settling his family there. Now, Mr. Shah had been one of the victims of Mullah F at a Pakistani function. The report from some Pakistan families in Darwin was that Mullah F’s wife and daughters had got rid of purdah and were living more liberally than any other Pakistani family.
Contrary to my fears, Mullah F was very kind and graceful as he opened the door. Before Mr. Shah could get even with Mullah F (he had predicted something ominous about Mr. Shah’s daughters in Toronto), this is what happened: “I am sure you have come to congratulate me over my permanent residence in Australia. It is Allah’s act. Allah must have wanted to use me and my family to something noble in Australia. Who can question when He gives you something. I only hope I succeed in the task that Allah will assign me and my family in Australia and I request you two brothers to pray for my success.”
Mr. Shah could not say a word and left like a gambler who had lost all he had.
There was another Allah-fearing Pakistani in another Pakistani community. He was mostly referred to as Sarkar Jee instead of his real name. One of the tasks he had taken upon himself was advising people that Muslims must marry Muslims. He had a theory of genetic transfer of sin: “If anyone in the history of your family has tasted pork, it will take seven generations to rid of the sin of eating pork!” Which means that seven generations would be infected only because someone in the past tasted pork.
The eldest son of Sarkar Jee married a Chinese woman who was a Christian. Her father ran a non-halal restaurant where pork was served too. Just like Mullah F, Sarkar Jee had a well-thought-out answer: “Allah chose my son to convert a woman to Islam. What else could one have asked for? Who can fault my son?” No one upon the pain of death.
Typically Pakistanis are hypocritical, intellectually dishonest, and morally bankrupt. I challenge anyone to visit Pakistanis living abroad. Day in and day out, they denounce their host countries—Australia, Britain, Canada, etc—for being immoral and anti-Islamic, but will never leave and settle down in Pakistan. They are in the forefront in demanding their rights, but are absent when it comes to fulfilling their civic duties. In Pakistan, an American drone attack will outrage the entire nation for killing a dozen people, but the beheading and burning alive of hundreds of Muslims and non-Muslims by the fundamentalists is condemned by only a handful of brave people. I can quote dozens of examples where little girls were raped in the mosques, but no one raised a voice against the rapes, and no one was ever punished for those rapes (All of the rapists were imams or pesh-imams of those mosques). Look at the hypocrisy of Pakistan’s Urdu journalists and politicians: every time innocent people are killed via suicide bombing the standard response is: “Muslims cannot do it.” Matter closed. The fact is that those who carry out these crimes are hundred per cent Muslim and have impeccable Islamic credentials: They pray five times a day, read the Koran regularly, and most of them are hafiz. Muslims believe that on the Day of Judgment one hafiz will lead a dozen of people to Paradise.
Internationally, the Unite States is the wickedest country, but American education for one’s son is a dream come true and an American green card is Allah’s greatest boon. Jews are the enemies of humanity, but Jewish inventions and discoveries are fully exploited for our benefit.
Our national hypocrisy is one reason that Pakistan will always remain a heart of darkness.
Abbas Zaidi
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Saturday, 16 May 2009
Asadullah Ghalib and Farhat Taj: In support of the jawans and officers of Pakistan Armed Forces fighting the Taliban terrorists...
Swat – a report from the frontline
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Farhat Taj
Recently an AIRRA (Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy – an Islamabad-based research organisation) investigation team went to some parts of Swat that had been under army attacks. The team observed whether the attacks were targeted at the Taliban and their installations. It observed two villages -- Ladikas and Watkai in Mingora -- and Khwazakhela, a tehsil in Swat. The team with its access to the people of the area could manage to take Besham route from Islamabad to reach Mingora via Khwazakhela. Though continuous curfew and alternate threats from the military posts and the Taliban posts badly hampered the journey of the team but somehow some of the members could manage to reach Mingora via Khwazakhela and Charbagh with the exodus of the people from different parts of Swat valley. The team was able to access and interview several dozens of those families who were still stuck up in the valley.
The team observed that the security forces have successfully destroyed the installations of the Taliban and have disrupted their chain of command in that area. They have killed many Taliban there with very little collateral damage, albeit with the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The best example is the Taliban headquarter in Khwazakhela. The headquarters was located on a mountain. It housed the Taliban operational command led by commander Yamin, the intelligence department led by commander Rashid and the department of logistics and supplies. The aerial bombardment of the Pakistan army reduced all that to rubble. The entire side of the mountain housing the headquarters has been exploded and razed.
The Taliban terrorists had established the headquarters with great efforts. They had cleansed a huge portion of the forest on the mountain to make free space for the building. They recruited the youth on a large scale, strengthened their command and control structure, established their hierarchical structure, planted mines on the main roads, dug bunkers and occupied the strategic passes in only two and a half months. And they did all this after the peace deal agreed with the NWFP government in February of this year.
The team interacted with the people in the area. Most of those killed were confirmed Taliban. There had been almost no serious collateral damage. Nearby buildings collapsed due to the force of explosions. Some people got injuries when hit by the collapsing debris.
Moreover, the army has cordoned off several narrow alleys of Mingora to prevent the Taliban from escaping. The military has cordoned off Swat from the northeast (the Shangla side), the southeast (the Buner side) and the southwest (the Dir side). In Mingora city itself, the Taliban are reported to be lying dead in the streets and local people confirm that some of them are well-known Taliban leaders.
There are still stranded people in Swat. The people are facing enormous difficulties due to power failure and water reservoirs in their homes which have dried up. Food commodities have become scarce and fuel stations have more or less stopped functioning. Soldiers of the Pakistan army and the FC are sharing their limited food rations with the stranded people. This goodwill gesture has earned respect of the stranded people for the security forces.
It is suggested to the army to issue the photos or video clips of the killed Taliban to the media and of the destroyed Taliban installations. Local people and the IDPs often know the Taliban and location of their installations. They would confirm that the dead were indeed the Taliban and the installations shown as destroyed indeed belonged to the Taliban. This is important because it will ensure transparency and reassure people of the success being achieved in the war.
It is highly commendable that the security forces are conducting targeted operations that have considerably damaged the Taliban in Swat. I would once again request the army high command to destroy the Taliban networks, installations, headquarters everywhere in Pakistan, including FATA and south Punjab. Taliban leaders in each and every city or town of Pakistan have to be neutralised. There is a strong connection between the Taliban in Waziristan, Orakzai, Swat, South Punjab, Khost and Kunar in terms of supply of manpower, weapons and chain of command. This connection is the Al Qaeda-linked Jalaluddin Haqqani and his terror secretariat in North Waziristan. This connection has to be broken, which means that Haqqani's 'secretariat' must be destroyed. Other than the military front, the war against militancy also needs to be fought on the ideological battleground -- Talibanisation needs to be denied ideological space in the country's security and state apparatus and this can be done by targeting elements in state structures and institutions deemed as being sympathetic to the militants.
The army must carry the war against the Taliban to its logical end. The army owes it to the Pakhtun and by extension to Pakistan, because the Pakhtun are citizens of the country and hence deserve the same protection by the state as accorded to those in the other provinces. The Pakhtun have always taken pride in giving their best sons to the army. It is now the turn of the army to reciprocate in such a manner that truly honours the Pakhtun martyrs of the army. This means complete elimination of the Taliban so that the Pakhtun live their lives free of the jihadi fear and intimidation. If done successfully, this will bind the Pakhtun even more closely with the state and the army. In that context, the army must convert this war into an opportunity that will substantially contribute towards making Pakistan a successfully functioning multi-ethnic state.
While the army is rising itself to the occasion, the performance of the politicians is dismal. The soldiers are giving their blood to save us from the Taliban. They are sharing their limited food ration with the stranded people. The army has given a share of their salary to support the relief work for the IDPs. Where are political leaders? What is President Zardari doing abroad? He should be visiting the IDPs rather than foreign lands. What is Asfandyar Wali doing in London? Why is Afrasiab Khattak in Dubai? The IDPs constantly complain that the ministers, MPAs and MNAs only come when the media is there and leave soon afterwards, without tending to their (the IDPs) problems.
All MNAs and MPAs, especially those elected by the people of Swat, Dir and Buner, should stay with the IDPs of their respective constituencies as long as possible because these are after all the people who voted them into public office.
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. Email: bergen34@yahoo.com (The News)
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Two slaps: Operation against the Taliban
Here is the first slap on the PPP and ANP's face by Talat Hussain:
This one is the second slap on Imran Khan and Munawar Hasan's face by Muhammad Amir Hashim Khakwani:
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Friday, 15 May 2009
BBC Report: Taliban Control 70% of Pakistan's NWF Province.
Pakistan conflict map
Research by the BBC Urdu's service into the growing strength of Taleban militants in north western Pakistan shows that only 38% of the area remains under full government control.
This map of the area is a snapshot of the current situation. However, with ongoing fighting between the Pakistan armed forces and the Taleban the situation on the ground could change in the future.
Methodology
This map charting the extent of Taleban control and presence in the north west of Pakistan is based on research carried out by the BBC's Urdu service.
The area concerned comprises the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The province has 24 districts, while FATA comprises seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions.
Evidence of Taleban control or significant presence in the region was established by studying BBC Urdu news reports over the last 18 months. This information was then verified with officials and contacts on the ground.
From the research, a clear pattern of Taleban-related militancy emerged.
When the Taleban identify an area to concentrate on, they start making their presence felt by bombing music shops and girls schools. This is followed by attacks on government buildings and police stations and law enforcement personnel before moving on to major attacks, including suicide bombings.
To distinguish Taleban-related activities from general lawlessness in the area, a series of rules were applied to each incident.
These were: such incidents had to be of a recurring nature; they should have occurred within the last 18 months; the incidents must be related to Taleban militancy and not with general lawlessness; there must be some level of official confirmation of Taleban presence in such areas; the Taleban must have claimed to have appointed local "commanders", and religious schools sympathetic to the Taleban must be in the area.
Once an assessment of the current situation had been made in all these districts, they were divided into three categories.
Taleban control: Districts and tribal areas where the civilian government has completely lost control. Such areas are either in Taleban control or the government has called in the army to flush the militants out. Local administration in these areas has become effectively dysfunctional and Taleban commanders are known to be in administrative control.
Taleban presence: These areas comprise districts and tribal agencies where the Taleban has established a permanent presence. In most cases, Taleban fighters have set up bases in rural areas, restricting government officials to limited areas in or around the district or tribal headquarters. In most of these areas, the Taleban has made its presence felt by periodically carrying out attacks on music shops, girls schools, government buildings, including police stations, and suicide bomb attacks. Local government administration remains in these areas but its effectiveness is seriously compromised. In many of these areas, the Taleban is known to have administered justice by enforcing settlements of disputes between locals. In all such areas, the Taleban have repeatedly demonstrated their capability to strike at will.
Government control: All areas where the government remains mostly in control. However, these areas are not unaffected by militant activities, such as kidnapping for ransom which are not directly related to Taleban militancy.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8046577.stm
عامر احمد خان
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، لندن
پاکستانی طالبان شمال مغربی صوبہ سرحد اور قبائلی علاقوں کے چوبیس فیصد حصے پر مکمل طور پر قابض ہو چکے ہیں جبکہ ان کے جنگجو یا حامی مزید اڑتیس فیصد علاقے میں متحرک نظر آتے ہیں۔پچھلے چند ہفتوں کی مسلسل فوجی کارروائی کے باوجود پاکستان کی حکومت اور فوج ان علاقوں سے طالبان کا قبضہ مکمل طور پرختم کرانے میں تاحال ناکام رہی ہے۔ نتیجتاً صوبائی حکومت کی عملی رٹ شمال مغربی صوبہ سرحد کے اڑتیس فیصد علاقے تک محدود ہو کر رہ گئی ہے۔
نقشے کی مدد سے دیکھیے کہ کہاں طالبان قابض ہیں، کن علاقوں میں ان کا اثر بڑھ رہا ہے اور کہاں حکومتی عملداری ابھی قائم ہے
طالبان کے زیر کنٹرول ان علاقوں میں شمالی پاکستان کی بائیس فیصد آبادی بستی ہے۔ اس حساب سے طالبان صوبہ سرحد اور قبائلی علاقوں کے پینسٹھ لاکھ عوام پر حکومت کر رہے ہیں جبکہ مزید پچاس فیصد آبادی یا لگ بھگ ڈیڑھ کروڑ عوام اس خوف میں رہ رہے ہیں کہ ان کا علاقہ کسی بھی وقت طالبان کی عملداری میں آ سکتا ہے۔ یوں حکومتی کنٹرول شمالی پاکستان کی صرف اٹھائیس فیصد آبادی تک محدود ہو کر رہ گیا ہے۔
بی بی سی کی ریسرچ درست نہیں: صدر آصف زرداری
صوبہ سرحد میں طالبان کے زیر کنٹرول علاقوں میں سوات، بنیر، شانگلہ اور لوئر دیر شامل ہیں جب کہ قبائلی علاقوں میں اورکزئی ایجنسی، شمالی وزیرستان، جنوبی وزیرستان اور باجوڑ اس وقت مکمل طور پر طالبان یا ان کے حلیف جنگجوؤں کے قبضے میں ہیں۔ ان تمام علاقوں میں حکومتی عملداری تقریباً نہ ہونے کے برابر ہے۔
پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں میں سے جنوبی وزیرستان، شمالی وزیرستان، اورکزئی ایجنسی اور باجوڑ تو سوات میں طالبان کی عملداری قائم ہونے سے پہلے ہی طالبان یا ان کے حامی جنگجوؤں کے نرغے میں آ چکے تھے
قبائلی علاقے
پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں میں سے جنوبی وزیرستان، شمالی وزیرستان، اورکزئی ایجنسی اور باجوڑ تو سوات میں طالبان کی عملداری قائم ہونے سے پہلے ہی طالبان یا ان کے حامی جنگجوؤں کے نرغے میں آ چکے تھے لیکن سوات میں طے پانے والے امن معاہدے کے چند ہی ماہ کے اندر طالبان صوبہ سرحد کے بندوبستی اضلاع شانگلہ، بونیر اور لوئر دیر پر بھی قابض ہو گئے۔
اس کے علاوہ انہوں نے کسی نہ کسی حد تک اپر دیر، صوابی، مردان، پشاور، مالاکنڈ، ہنگو، کوہاٹ، بنوں، لکی مروت، ٹانک اور ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان میں بھی مستقل موجودگی قائم کر لی ہیں۔
بی بی سی اردو سروس کے نامہ نگاروں کی رپورٹوں کی مدد سے تیار کردہ صوبہ سرحد کے نقشے کے مطابق مکمل حکومتی رٹ اب صوبہ سرحد کے شمالی ضلع چترال، شمال مشرقی اضلاع کوہستان، بٹگرام، مانسہرہ، ایبٹ آباد، ہری پور، وسطی اضلاع چارسدہ اور نوشہرہ اور جنوبی ضلع کرک تک محدود ہو چکی ہے۔
طالبان ایجنسیوں کے بیشتر علاقوں کا کنٹرول سنبھالے ہوئے ہیں
ہمارے نامہ نگاروں کے مطابق قبائلی علاقوں میں مہمند، خیبر اور کرم ایسی ایجنسیاں ہیں جہاں طالبان یا ان سے منسلک جنگجوؤں کی ناصرف باقاعدہ موجودگی ہے بلکہ وہ ان ایجنسیوں کے بیشتر علاقوں کا کنٹرول سنبھالے ہوئے ہیں۔ ان علاقوں میں طالبان کنٹرول کی سب سے بڑی مثال خیبر ایجنسی میں ملتی ہے جہاں نیٹو کو رسد پہنچانے والے قافلوں پر باقاعدہ حملے ہوتے ہیں۔ ہمارے نامہ نگاروں کے مطابق خیبر کے دو علاقوں باڑہ اور جمرود پر شدت پسندوں کا مکمل کنٹرول ہے۔
تاہم ان تینوں ایجنسیوں میں حکومت مقامی لشکروں کے ذریعے کم از کم ایجنسی ہیڈکوارٹرز تک اپنی عملداری قائم رکھے ہوئے ہے اسی لیے انہیں ابھی ایسے علاقوں میں شمار نہیں کیا جا سکتا جہاں طالبان یا ان کے حلیف جنگجو مکمل طور پر قابض ہو چکے ہیں۔ اس کے باوجود ان تینوں ایجنسیوں میں بندوبستی علاقوں کے عوام کے لیے آزادانہ رسائی اور میڈیا کے لیے آزادانہ رپورٹنگ تقریباً ناممکن ہے۔
ان تین ایجنسیوں کے برعکس باجوڑ، اورکزئی، شمالی وزیرستان اور جنوبی وزیرستان مکمل طور پر طالبان کے قبضے میں ہیں۔ پاکستانی فوج جنوبی وزیرستان کے محسود علاقے سے تقریباً نکل چکی ہے جبکہ باقی علاقے پر وزیر قبائل کے طالبان کا قبضہ ہے۔ ہمارے نامہ نگاروں کے مطابق شمالی اور جنوبی وزیرستان میں بڑی تعداد میں غیر ملکی جنگجو موجود ہیں۔
اورکزئی ایجنسی میں مقامی طالبان کمانڈر حکیم اللہ محسود وزیرستان میں خود کش حملہ آور تیار کرنے والے طالبان جنگجو قاری حسین کا رشتہ دار ہے۔ یہاں مقامی شیعہ اور سنی آبادی میں کشیدگی رہتی ہے جس کی وجہ سے لوئر اورکزئی میں طالبان چاہتے نہ چاہتے ہوئے بھی سنی آبادی کی مدد کرتے ہیں۔ اس فرقہ وارانہ کشمکش نے علاقے میں حکومتی مشینری کو بالکل بے بس کر دیا ہے۔
باجوڑ میں اکتوبر دو ہزار چھ میں ایک بڑے میزائل حملے میں اسی افراد کی ہلاکت کے صرف نو دن بعد درگئی کے فوجی تربیتی کیمپ پر حملہ کر کے طالبان نے پہلی مرتبہ پاکستان کے بندوبستی علاقوں میں بڑی کارروائی کرنے کی اہلیت کا ثبوت دیا تھا۔ درگئی فوجی کیمپ پر حملے میں چالیس سے زیادہ زیر تربیت جوان ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔ اس کے بعد حکومت اور فوج نے متعدد بار مقامی جرگوں کے ذریعے باجوڑ ایجنسی کو واپس قابو میں لانے کی کوشش کی لیکن پے در پے ناکامیوں کے بعد مقامی طالبان نواز عسکریت پسندوں سے معاہدہ کر کے علاقہ چھوڑ دیا۔
باجوڑ ایجنسی پر طالبان کا جزوی راج ہے گو کچھ عرصے سے طالبان اور فوج براہ راست متصادم نہیں۔ اتمانخیل قبیلے کی مزاحمت کی وجہ سے انہیں اس علاقے میں احمایت نہیں مل سکی ہے
ہمارے نامہ نگار
اب ہمارے نامہ نگاروں کے مطابق باجوڑ ایجنسی پر طالبان کا جزوی راج ہے گو کچھ عرصے سے طالبان اور فوج براہ راست متصادم نہیں۔ باجوڑ میں اتمانخیل قبیلے نے آغاز سے طالبان کی مزاحمت کی ہے لہذا اس علاقے میں ان کو حمایت نہیں مل سکی ہے۔ اس کے باوجود باجوڑ طالبان کا ایک مضبوط گڑھ ہے جہاں فوج کا عمل دخل ہونے کے باوجود طالبان اپنی کارروائیاں کرنے کی مکمل صلاحیت رکھتے ہیں۔
بندوبستی علاقوں سوات، شانگلہ، بونیر اور لوئر دیر کے اضلاع پر طاءبان پچھلے چند ہفتوں میں مکمل طور پر قابض ہو گئے تھے۔ ان اضلاع میں سے گزرنے والے تمام اہم راستوں پر انہوں نے اپنا کنٹرول قائم کر لیا تھا۔ حکومت پاکستان کا کہنا ہے کہ سوات کے بعد طالبان کو ان اضلاع میں اپنی عملداری قائم کرنے میں مالاکنڈ کے کمشنر سید محمد جاوید سے باقاعدہ مدد ملی جس کی وجہ سے انہیں اس عہدے سے ہٹا لیا گیا۔
تاہم پاکستانی صدر آصف علی زرداری کے امریکی دورے کے ساتھ ہی شروع ہونے والے فوجی آپریشن نے طالبان کے کمانڈ اور کنٹرول سسٹم کو بھاری نقصان پہنچایا ہے۔ فی الحال ان علاقوں پر حکومتی رٹ مکمل طور پر بحال نہیں ہو سکی لیکن اگر موجودہ آپریشن کے مقاصد پورے ہو جاتے ہیں تو آنے والے ہفتوں میں یہ علاقے واپس حکومتی کنٹرول میں آسکتے ہیں۔
ان چاروں اضلاع کا کل رقبہ دس ہزار تین سو اکہتر مربع کلومیٹر بنتا ہے جبکہ یہاں کی کل آبادی لگ بھگ چوالیس لاکھ ہے۔ لیکن اس سے کہیں زیادہ اہم ان اضلاع کی جغرافیائی حدود ہیں۔ لوئر دیر سوات اور قبائلی علاقوں میں پل کا کام کرتا ہے اور اس علاقے میں طالبان کی عملداری قائم ہونے سے سوات اور قبائلی علاقوں کی باجوڑ ایجنسی میں طالبان کی آمدو رفت کے لیے ایک باقاعدہ راستہ بن گیا ہے۔
اس کے علاوہ لوئر دیر پر طالبان کے قبضے کے بعد ضلع چترال کا زمینی رابطہ مکمل طور پر کٹ گیا ہے۔ سال میں سردیوں کے چھ یا سات ماہ تک تو ویسے ہی چترال کا زمینی رابطہ باقی پاکستان سے کٹا رہتا ہے۔ اب اگر حکومت لوئر دیر پر اپنی رٹ بحال نہ کر سکی تو چترال کا زمینی رابطہ ملک کے باقی حصوں سے مستقل کٹ سکتا ہے۔
طالبان ضلع صوابی میں قدم جما لیتے ہیں تو انہیں ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان اور پنجاب میں داخل ہونے کا ایک اور اہم راستہ مل جائے گا
بونیر پر طالبان کے قبضے کا ایک اہم پہلو یہ ہے کہ اگر مستقبل قریب میں طالبان ضلع صوابی میں اپنے قدم جما لیتے ہیں تو انہیں ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان کے علاوہ شمال سے پنجاب میں داخل ہونے کا ایک اور اہم راستہ مل جائے گا۔
پچھلے چند ہفتوں میں طالبان کے قبضے میں آنے والے ان چاروں اضلاع کے علاوہ صوبہ سرحد کے کل چوبیس میں سے گیارہ اضلاع ایسے ہیں جہاں یا تو طالبان نے مستقل موجودگی ثابت کر دی ہے یا ان کے مقامی رابطے اس سطح پر پہنچ گئے ہیں کہ وہ کسی وقت بھی ان اضلاع میں کوئی بڑی کارروائی کر سکتے ہیں۔
چھبیس ہزار مربع کلومیٹر پر پھیلے ان گیارہ اضلاع میں پشاور، مردان، صوابی، کوہاٹ، ہنگو، بنوں، اپر دیر، مالاکنڈ، لکی مروت، ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان اور ٹانک شامل ہیں۔ ان اضلاع کی سوا کروڑ آبادی گزشتہ کچھ عرصے سے طالبان کے خوف میں جی رہی ہے۔ ان تمام اضلاع میں طالبان یا ان کے حامی جنگجو موسیقی کی دکانوں پر حملے اور گاڑیوں سے زبردستی کیسٹ پلیئر اتارنے سے لے کر خود کش حملوں تک متعدد کارروائیاں کر چکے ہیں۔
ان اضلاع کا جغرافیہ یہاں طالبان کے بڑھتے ہوئے اثر رسوخ کو حکومت اور فوج کے لیے مزید خطرناک بناتا ہے۔ جغرافیائی اعتبار سے صوبہ سرحد میں مکمل حکومتی رٹ چار مختلف ٹکڑوں میں بٹ چکی ہے۔ پہلا ٹکڑا وسیع و عریض شمالی ضلع چترال پر مشتمل ہے۔ چترال میں فی الحال طالبان کے ٹھکانوں کی کوئی خبر نہیں لیکن رقبے کے اعتبار سے طالبان کے زیر انتظام چاروں اضلاع کے مجموعی رقبے سے ڈیڑھ گنا بڑے چترال کا پہاڑی علاقہ مستقبل میں طالبان اور القاعدہ جنگجوؤں کے لیے دلچسپی کا علاقہ بن سکتا ہے تاہم مقامی آبادی کا پشتون نہ ہونا ان کے لیے منفی عنصر ثابت ہوسکتا ہے۔
اگر طالبان صوابی کے ذریعے ایبٹ آباد اور ہری پور تک پھیل جاتے ہیں تو سرحد کی مشرقی پٹی کے اضلاع کا رابطہ باقی صوبے سے مکمل طور پر کٹ جائے گا
سرحد کے مشرقی اضلاع
دوسرا ٹکڑا صوبے کے مشرقی اضلاع کوہستان، بٹگرام، مانسہرہ، ایبٹ آباد اور ہری پور پر مشتمل ہے۔ حکومتی کنٹرول کی اس پٹی سے ملحقہ اضلاع سوات، شانگلہ اور بونیر طالبان کے نرغے میں ہیں اور اگر طالبان صوابی کے ذریعے ایبٹ آباد اور ہری پور تک پھیل جاتے ہیں تو اس مشرقی پٹی کا رابطہ باقی صوبے سے مکمل طور پر کٹ جائے گا۔
یہاں یہ ذکر کرنا ضروری ہو گا کہ صوابی طالبانیت سے گہری رغبت رکھنے والے عوام کا علاقہ ہے۔ یہاں قائم پنج پیر کے مشہور مدرسے سے مولانہ صوفی محمد اور ملا فضل اللہ سمیت کئی اہم رہنما تعلیم حاصل کر چکے ہیں۔ پنج پیر کو تقریباً ایک فقہ کا درجہ حاصل ہے جو طالبان کے وہابی فقہ سے قریبی مماثلت رکھتا ہے۔ گو ابھی تک یہاں طالبان طرز کی معمولی کارروائیاں ہوئی ہیں لیکن مقامی لوگ اس علاقے کو طالبانیت کا نظریاتی گڑھ بیان کرتے ہیں۔ اسلام آباد پشاور موٹروے بننے کے بعد صوابی کا اسلام آباد تک سفر بہت حد تک آسان ہو گیا ہے۔
صوبہ سرحد کا دارالحکومت پشاور، مغرب میں مہمند، خیبر اور اورکزئی ایجنسیوں میں گھرا ہوا ہے جبکہ اس کے شمال میں مردان اور چارسدہ، جنوب میں کوہاٹ اور مشرق میں مردان اور نوشہرہ کے اضلاع ہیں۔ یہاں پچھلے چند ماہ میں طالبان دیدہ دلیری سے کئی وارداتیں کر چکے ہیں جن میں سب سے معنی خیز نیٹو کو رسد پہنچانے والے ٹرکوں کے اڈوں پر حملے تھے جن میں درجنوں کی تعداد میں طالبان نے پے در پے حملے کر کے سینکڑوں ٹرکوں کو نظر آتش کر دیا تھا۔
پشاور میں ڈاکٹروں تک کو دھمکیاں مل رہی ہیں کہ کوئی مرد ڈاکٹر کسی عورت کا علاج نہ کرے اور پینٹ شرٹ پہن کر نہ آئے
تازہ اطلاعات
مردان میں موسیقی کی دکانوں پر حملے معمول کی کارروائی بن چکے ہیں جبکہ چارسدہ میں سابق وزیر داخلہ آفتاب شیرپاؤ پر قاتلانہ حملے سمیت کئی وارداتیں ہو چکی ہیں۔ تازہ اطلاعات کے مطابق پشاور میں ڈاکٹروں تک کو دھمکیاں مل رہی ہیں کہ کوئی مرد ڈاکٹر کسی عورت کا علاج نہ کرے اور پینٹ شرٹ پہن کر نہ آئے۔ طالبان کے پھیلاؤ سے متعلق اب تک ماضی کا تجربہ یہی رہا ہے کہ وہ جس علاقے کو بھی نشانہ بناتے ہیں وہاں اپنا اثر رسوخ بڑھانے کے لیے اسی طرح کے حربوں سے اپنی کارروائیوں کا آغاز کرتے ہیں۔
جنوبی اضلاع بنوں، لکی مروت، ٹانک اور ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان بھی ایک عرصے سے طالبان کی پر تشدد کاروائیوں کا شکار ہیں۔ بنوں بندوبستی اضلاع میں وہ واحد ضلع ہے جہاں امریکی ڈرون باقاعدہ حملہ کر چکے ہیں۔ اسی طرح ٹانک میں بھی طالبان مسلح گشت کر چکے ہیں اور ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان سمیت یہاں بڑی تعداد میں جنوبی وزیرستان کے پناہ گزین آباد ہونے کی وجہ سے طالبان کو ان علاقوں میں آزادانہ رسائی حاصل ہے۔
ٹانک اور ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان کا شمار مستقبل قریب کے خطرناک ترین اضلاع میں کیا جا سکتا ہے کیونکہ یہاں طالبان مقامی فرقہ پرست تنظیموں کی باقاعدہ حمایت کرتے ہیں۔ سال بھر کے عرصے میں یہاں فرقہ وارانہ وارداتوں اور خود کش حملوں کے کئی واقعات ہوئے ہیں جن میں پولیس سٹیشنوں اور دیگر حکومتی اہلکاروں پر حملے بھی شامل ہیں۔
ان اضلاع میں جاری پرتشدد فرقہ واریت میں طالبان کی بڑھتی ہوئی دلچسپی نے پنجاب کے اضلاع کو بھی خطرے سے دوچار کر دیا ہے۔ اگر آنے والے وقتوں میں طالبان نے باقاعدہ طور سے پرتشدد فرقہ پرستی میں ملوث ہونے کی پالیسی اپنا لی تو جنوبی پنجاب کے نو بڑے اضلاع ان کے اثر و رسوخ کی لپیٹ میں آ سکتے ہیں۔
صحافیوں کے نام
پنجاب کے ان اضلاع میں چکوال، میانوالی، بھکر، جھنگ، مظفرگڑھ، بہاولنگر، بہاولپور، راجن پور اور ڈیرہ غازی خان شامل ہیں۔ صوبہ پنجاب کے سینتالیس فیصد یا تقریباً نصف رقبے پر پھیلے ہوئے ان اضلاع میں سوا دو کروڑ لوگ بستے ہیں جو پنجاب کی بائیس فیصد آبادی ہے۔ پچھلے ڈیڑھ سال میں ان تمام اضلاع سے کسی نہ کسی نوعیت کی 'طالبان طرز' کی کارروائی کی اطلاعات آ چکی ہیں۔
بااثر امریکی اخبار نیو یارک ٹائمز کی ایک حالیہ رپورٹ کے مطابق اسلام آباد کی لال مسجد کے خطیب کی اہلیہ ام حسان پچھلے چند ماہ میں پنجاب کے جنوبی اضلاع کے بیس سے زیادہ دورے کر چکی ہے جن کے دوران انہوں نے کئی جلسوں سے بھی خطاب کیا ہے۔ مغربی مبصرین کی رائے میں ان علاقوں کے مدرسے میں نوجوانوں کی ایک ایسی نسل تیار ہو رہی ہے جو طالبان سے انتہائی نظریاتی مطابقت رکھتی ہے اور جسے وقت آنے پر ریاست کے خلاف صف آراء ہونے میں تامل نہ ہو گا۔
کمشنر مالاکنڈ
پاکستانی مبصرین بارہا اس خطرے کی جانب اشارہ کر چکے ہیں کہ حکومت وقتاً فوقتاً اندرونی اور بیرونی دباؤ کے پیش نظر صوبہ سرحد کے طالبان کے خلاف فوجی کارروائی کرنے پر تو آمادہ ہو جاتی ہے لیکن طالبان کی اس نظریاتی پیش قدمی کو روکنے کی ضرورت سے قطعی بے بہرہ نظر آتی ہے۔
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طالبان کا مارچ
طالبان کے زیر کنٹرول اور زیر اثر ضلعوں کے بارے میں تفصیلات بی بی سی پاکستان کے ایکٹنگ ایڈیٹر ہارون رشید نے نامہ نگاروں عبدالحئی کاکڑ، رفعت اللہ اورکزئی، دلاور خان وزیر اور علی سلمان کی مدد سے جمع کی ہیں۔
پروڈیوسرز: راجہ ذوالفقار علی، عالیہ نازکی، عبدالوہاب رفیق
پاکستان میں طالبان کی پیش قدمی، خصوصی نقشے اور تفصیلات کے لیے لنکس پر کلک کریں۔
طالبان کے زیر کنٹرول
سوات
آبادی: 1,807,200
اپنی قدرتی دلکشی کی وجہ سے پاکستان کا سوئٹزرلینڈ کہلانے والا ضلع سوات جو کبھی غیر ملکیوں کے لیے پاکستان میں ایک پُرکشش مقام تھا اور یہاں موسمِ گرما میں پاکستانی اور غیر ملکی سیاحوں کی آمد و رفت سے سیاحت عروج پر ہوتی تھی آج مکمل طور پر طالبان کے کنٹرول میں ہے۔
اپریل کے شروع میں سوات میں شرعی نظامِ عدل عملی طور پر نافذ کر دیا گیا تھا۔ سرحد حکومت نے اس قانون پر عملدرآمد کو طالبان کی طرف سے ہتھیار ڈالنے سے مشروط کردیا تھا۔ امن معاہدے کے بعد مختلف رہنماؤں کی یقین دہانیوں کے باوجود طالبان غیر مسلح نہیں ہوئے بلکہ ان کی کارروائیوں میں بھی اضافہ دیکھنے میں آیا ہے۔
سوات ہی وہ ضلع ہے جہاں سے تحریکِ نفاذِ شریعتِ محمد کے سربراہ صوفی محمد کے داماد مولانا فضل اللہ طالبان کو کنٹرول کر رہے ہیں۔
اس ضلع میں کئی ایسے علاقے ہیں جہاں بوقتِ ضرورت یا دفاعی حکمتِ عملی کے تحت طالبان پسپائی اختیار کرتے ہوئے چھپ سکتے ہیں۔ حتٰی کہ اگر کسی وجہ سے ان پر سیاسی دباؤ بڑھ جائے تو وہ سیاسی مصلحت کی بنیاد پر سوات کے شمالی علاقوں میں رُوپوش ہو سکتے ہیں جہاں طالبان کا کنٹرول ہر لحاظ سے مکمل ہے۔
شانگلہ
آبادی: 640,000
شانگلہ سابق وفاقی وزیر اور مسلم لیگ (قاف) کے رہنما امیر مقام کا آبائی علاقہ ہے۔ اس ضلع کے بارے میں کہا جا سکتا ہے کہ یہ جزوی طور پر طالبان کے کنٹرول میں ہے۔ یہاں پر زمرد کی کانیں ہیں۔ اس علاقے میں فوجی کارروائی ہو رہی ہے۔
تقریباً ڈیڑھ برس پہلے شدت پسندوں نے شانگلہ ٹاپ پر قبضہ کر لیا تھا اور تھانوں پر اپنا کنٹرول قائم کر لیا تھا۔ وہاں کی پولیس شدت پسندوں کی آمد پر فرار ہوگئی تھی۔ کئی سرکاری عمارتوں پر بھی شدت پسندوں کا کنٹرول قائم ہو گیا تھا۔ طالبان کے بارے میں کہا جاتا ہے کہ انہیں اس بات کا احساس ہے کہ حسبِ ضرورت وہ اس علاقے میں اپنا کنٹرول قائم کر سکتے ہیں۔
بونیر
آبادی: 709,700
اسلام آباد سے تقریباً ایک سو میل کے فاصلے پر واقع بونیر وہ ضلع ہے جہاں فوج کی کارروائی جاری ہے اور فوج نے دعویٰ کیا ہے کہ یہاں کے صدر مقام ڈگر کا کنٹرول اس کے پاس واپس آگیا ہے۔ یہاں سے شدت پسندوں کو مکمل طور پر باہر نکال دیا گیا ہے۔اگرچہ یہ ضلع سوات کے طالبان کے کنٹرول میں رہا ہے لیکن یہ واحد ضلع ہے جہاں کی مقامی آبادی طالبان کی حمایت نہیں کرتی۔
ضلع بونیر تمام پشتونوں میں صوفی بزرگ سید علی ترمزی المعروف پیربابا کے مزار کے حوالے سے مشہور تھا لیکن شدت پسندی کی لہر نے صورتِ حال کو یکسر بدل کر رکھ دیا۔ سنہ دو ہزار آٹھ میں سوات کے طالبان نے بونیر میں داخل ہونے کی کوشش کی تھی جس میں بونیر کے علاقے شلبانڈی کے مقام پر مقامی لوگوں کے ایک لشکر سے طالبان کا تصادم ہوا تھا جس میں چھ طالبان مارے گئے تھے۔اس واقعہ کے بعد طالبان واپس چلے گئے تھے۔ البتہ کچھ عرصے بعد جب شلبانڈی میں ضمنی انتخاب ہوا تو ایک خود کُش حملے میں اڑتالیس افراد ہلاک ہوگئے۔
تاہم سوات میں نظام عدل کے نفاذ کی کامیابی کے بعد طالبان نے دوبارہ بونیر کا رخ کیا تو مقامی افراد نے طویل مذاکرات کے بعد مزاحمت کا ارادہ ترک کرکے انہیں آنے کی اجازت دے دی۔ علاقے میں طالبان کے خوف کی وجہ سے موسیقی اور حجاموں کے کاروبار بھی بند ہوگئے تھے۔
لوئر دیر
آبادی: 1,073,000
لوئر دیر سےگزشتہ ڈیڑھ برس کے دوران مسلسل اطلاعات آ رہی تھیں کہ وہاں طالبان نے اپنی پناہ گاہیں بنا رکھی ہیں۔ پاکستانی فوج کے ترجمان میجر جنرل اطہر عباس نے اٹھائیس اپریل دو ہزار نو کو ایک نیوز کانفرنس میں اس بات کی تصدیق کی کہ شدت پسندوں نے پہاڑوں پر اپنے اڈے بنا لیے تھے۔ اس ضلع میں ’میدان‘ کا علاقہ طالبان کا اصل گڑھ ہے۔ تحریکِ نفاذِ شریعتِ محمدی کے سربراہ صوفی محمد کا تعلق بھی اسی علاقے سے ہے۔ پاکستان فوج نے اس ضلع پر دوبارہ قبضہ حاصل کرنے کا بھی دعوی کیا ہے۔
اطلاعات ہیں کہ یہاں موجود شدت پسند اور طالبان اًپر دِیر میں اپنا اثر و رسُوخ بڑھانے کے لوئر دِیر کو باآسانی استعمال کر سکتے ہیں۔اس کی وجہ یہ ہے کہ لوئر دِیر میں طالبان کا اثر و نفوذ بہت زیادہ ہے اور وہ جب چاہیں اپنی جنگی حکمتِ عملی کے مطابق اس کا فائدہ اٹھا سکتے ہیں۔
قبائلی علاقے
قبائلی علاقے
جنوبی وزیرستان
آبادی: 541,944
جنوبی وزیرستان رقبے کے لحاظ سے سب سے بڑی ایجنسی ہے۔ اس میں دو بڑے قبیلے، محسود اور وزیر قبائل، آباد ہیں۔ وزیر قبیلہ افغان سرحد کے آر پار آباد ہے۔ محسود صرف جنوبی وزیرستان میں آباد ہے۔ محسود اور وزیر دونوں کے علاقے میں حکومت کی عملداری ختم ہو چکی ہے۔ اس وقت فوج صرف وانا میں زیڑی نور کیمپ تک محدود ہے۔ محسود کے علاقے کو فوج نے گزشتہ سال تین سو اہلکاروں کے اغواء کے بعد خالی کر دیا تھا، کیونکہ محسود کے علاقے میں رسد نہیں پہنچ سکتی۔ بیت اللہ محسود کے علاقے میں خودکش بمباروں کے سات ٹریننگ سینٹر ہیں جن میں مکین، شک توئی، کانیگرم، ڈیلا، کوٹ کائی، شوال اور بدر شامل ہیں۔ ملا نذیر کے دو سینٹر ہیں جن میں شکائی اور باغڑ کے علاقے شامل ہیں۔ ملا نذیر کے کچھ لوگ وانا کے قریب بلوچستان کے علاقے میں رہتے ہیں جن میں زیادہ تر غیر ملکی تاجک ہیں۔
شمالی وزیرستان
آبادی: 483,565
شمالی وزیرستان میں دو بڑے قبیلے وزیر اور داوڑ آباد ہیں جن میں پچھہتر فیصد وزیر ہیں۔ یہاں تین سب ڈویژن ہیں: میرانشاہ، میرعلی اور رزمک۔ ان تینوں میں طالبان کے ٹھکانے موجود ہیں۔ طالبان نے شہروں میں روزانہ گشت کرنے، لوگوں کے مسائل سننے اور سزا دینے کے لیے ہر علاقے میں دفتر قائم کر رکھے ہیں۔ شمالی وزیرستان میں صرف ایک کمانڈر گل بہادر کا کنٹرول ہے البتہ بیت اللہ محسود کے تین کیمپس بھی موجود ہیں، جن میں دو میرانشاہ اور ایک رزمک میں قائم ہے۔ شمالی و جنوبی وزیرستان میں اس وقت پنجابی طالبان کی ایک بڑی تعداد موجود ہے۔
کرم
آبادی: 602,927
کُرم ایجنسی بھی تین سب ڈویژنوں پر مشتمل ہے، جن میں اپر کرم، سینٹرل کرم اور لوئر کرم شامل ہیں۔ اپر کرم میں زیادہ تر آبادی شیعوں کی ہے اس لیے اس علاقے میں طالبان بہت کم ہیں۔ لوئر کرم کی صرف ایک تحصیل علی زئی میں شیعہ آبادی ہے، باقی پورے کرم میں جہاں سنی آبادی ہے وہاں طالبان بھی موجود ہیں اور سنی آبادی طالبان کی حمایت بھی کرتی ہے۔ جب سے جنوبی و شمالی وزیرستان پر ڈرون حملوں میں اضافہ ہوا ہے تب سے غیر ملکی عرب کرم اور اورکزئی کے علاقوں میں منتقل ہوگئے ہیں۔
اورکزئی
آبادی: 162,526
اورکزئی میں دو سب ڈویژن ہیں۔ اپر اورکزئی اور لوئر اورکزئی۔ لوئر اورکزئی میں شیعوں کی آبادی زیادہ ہے اس لیے وہاں طالبان بہت کم ہیں۔ اپر میں سنی آباد ہیں اور پہاڑی علاقے بھی ہیں۔ یہاں طالبان زیادہ ہیں۔ زیادہ تر طالبان ماموزئی، علی خیل، آخیل اور فیروز خیل قبائل میں ہیں۔ یہ لوگ فرقہ وارانہ بنیادوں پر بھی طالبان کی حمایت کرتے ہیں۔ اورکزئی، کرم اور خیبر ایجنسی کے لیے طالبان کے کمانڈر بھی حکیم اللہ محسود ہیں۔ حکیم اللہ محسود قاری حسین کے چچازاد بھائی ہیں۔ قاری حسین کو وزیرستان میں خودکش بمباروں کا ماسٹر مائنڈ تصور کیا جاتا ہے۔
خیبر
آبادی: 867,286
خیبر قبائلی علاقوں میں واحد قبائلی علاقہ ہے جہاں مذہبی تنظمیں زیادہ ہیں۔ خیبر میں تین مذہبی تنظیمیں ہیں جن میں لشکر اسلام، جس کا امیر منگل باغ ہے، انصاراسلام، جس کا امیر قاضی محبوب الحق ہے اور امر باالمعروف جس کا امیر نیازگل ہے، شامل ہیں۔ خیبر ایجنسی میں پہلے سے طالبان نہیں تھے مگر چونکہ نیٹو کے لیے رسد لے جانے والے قافلے خیبر سے گزرتے ہیں اس لیے قافلوں پر حملوں کے لیے طالبان یہاں بھی پہنچ گئے ہیں۔ خیبر ایجنسی کے تین ڈویژنوں میں دو پر طالبان کا مکمل کنٹرول ہے، جن میں جمرود اور باڑہ شامل ہیں۔
مہمند
آبادی: 553,028
مہمند میں بھی طالبان تین سب ڈویژنوں میں موجود ہیں۔ مہمند کے ایک بڑے قبیلے صافی سے تعلق رکھنے والے عمر خالد طالبان کا کمانڈر ہے۔ مہمند میں غیر ملکی ازبک اور عرب بھی موجود ہیں۔
باجوڑ
آبادی: 989,904
باجوڑ میں پہلے سے طالبان کا کنٹرول ہے۔ مولانا فقیر محمد اور تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے ترجمان مولوی عمر کا تعلق بھی باجوڑ سے ہے۔ باجوڑ کے علاقے سلارزئی، دشت کے علاقے میں طالبان کے کئی ٹھکانے موجود ہیں۔ ایف آر کے تمام علاقوں میں طالبان موجود ہیں۔ لیکن زیادہ مضبوط گڑھ ایف آر کے علاقوں میں درہ آدم خیل ہیں۔ اس کے علاوہ جنوبی وزیرستان سے ملحقہ ایف آر شیرنی کی سرحدیں پنجاب کے ضلع ڈیرہ غازی خان سے لگی ہوئی ہے۔ جنوبی وزیرستان سے بغیر کسی رکاوٹ کے پنجاب میں طالبان داخل ہو سکتے ہیں۔
طالبان متحرک
اپر دیر
آبادی: 799,000
اپر دیراس علاقے میں کسی حدت تک شدت پسندوں کی موجودگی کی اطلاعات ہیں۔ تاہم یہاں موجود شدت پسند کھلے عام یہ اقرار نہیں کرتے کہ ان کا طالبان سے کسی قسم کا کوئی تعلق یا رابطہ ہے۔ یہاں کے شدت پسند خود کو طالبان بھی نہیں کہتے لیکن کہا جاتا ہے کہ یہاں موجود شدت پسند مجرمانہ سرگرمیوں میں ملوث ہیں۔ اس سال فروری سے یہاں افغان باشندوں کی قیادت میں ایک گروپ نے ڈوگ درہ کے علاقے پر قبضہ کیا اور مقامی جرگوں کے باوجود اس خالی کرنے سے انکار کرتے رہے۔ اپریل دو ہزار نو میں یہاں پانچ پولیس اہلکار شرینگل کے علاقے میں ہلاک کر دیے گئے تھے۔
اس ضلع کے بارے میں کہا جا سکتا ہے کہ اگر طالبان کو ضرورت پڑے تو انہیں یہاں سے مدد مل سکتی ہے۔ اس ضلع میں تحریکِ نفاذِ شریعتِ محمدی کے دفاتر بھی ہیں اور اس تنظیم سے تعلق رکھنے والے افراد بھی یہاں موجود ہیں۔
مالاکنڈ
آبادی: 672,000
مالاکنڈ ضلع مردان اور سوات کے اضلاع کے درمیان ایک پہاڑی درہ ہے۔ یہیں انیسویں صدی کے اواخر میں مقامی قبائل نے برطانوی فوجیوں کے خلاف لڑائیاں لڑیں۔ سوات میں شدت پسندی کے مسئلے کے سر اٹھانے سے پہلے سے ہی یہاں امن و عامہ کی مشکل انتظامیہ کو درپیش تھی۔ اغواء برائے تاوان کے لیئے یہ علاقہ بدنام تھا۔ ایک بین الاقوامی امدادی تنظیم کے چند اہلکار بھی یہاں سے اس سال جنوری میں اغوا ہوئے تھے۔ لیکن سب سے بڑا حملہ یہاں باجوڑ ایجنسی میں ڈمہ ڈولہ کے مقام پر امریکہ میزائل حملے کے فورا بعد ردعمل میں شدت پسندوں کی جانب سے درگئی کے مقام پر فوجی رنگروٹس پر تربیت کے دوران حملہ تھا جس سے چالیس سے زائد فوجی ہلاک ہوگئے تھے۔ اس علاقے میں طالبان کی جزوی موجودگی ہے۔ لیکن اثر و رسوخ کافی ہے جس کے باعث طالبان جب چاہیں علاقے کو مکمل طور پر اپنے کنٹرول میں لے سکتے ہیں۔
مردان
آبادی: 2,084,000
صوبہ سرحد کے اس شہر میں مبینہ شدت پسندوں کے منظر عام پر آنے اور پولیس اہلکاروں سے باقاعدہ جھڑپوں کے واقعات میں اضافہ دیکھنے میں آیا ہے۔ یہاں شدت پسندوں کا مستقل کنٹرول نہیں ہے لیکن وہ امن و عامہ کی صورتحال پر اثر انداز ہوتے رہتے ہیں۔ صوبائی دارالحکومت پشاور سے سے تقریباً ساٹھ کلومیٹر شمال مشرق میں واقع ضلع مردان کو آبادی اور کاروباری لحاظ سے ایک اہم شہر سمجھا جاتا ہے جس کی سرحد شورش زدہ علاقوں سوات، بونیر، پشاور اور صوابی سے ملتی ہے۔ مردان میں سی ڈیز فروخت کرنے والی دکانوں کو بم دھماکوں کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا رہا ہے۔ پچھلے دنوں ضلع مردان میں ایک غیر سرکاری تنظیم اور کیبل آپریٹر کے دفاتر پر ہونے والے بم حملے کی ذمہ داری خود کو کالعدم تنظیم تحریک طالبان پاکستان کا امیر ظاہر کرنے والے ایک شخص حبیب الرحمان نے قبول کی تھی۔ اسی شہر سے القاعدہ کا ایک اہم رکن الفراج اللبی مئی دو ہزار پانچ میں گرفتار ہوا تھا۔
صوابی
آبادی: 1,457,000
صوابی اے این پی کا گڑھ ہے اور یہاں پر طالبان کی موجودگی کم ہے۔ یہاں حالات معمول کے مطابق ہیں البتہ دیواروں پر طالبان کی حمایت میں چاکنگ دیکھنے میں آتی ہے۔ صوابی کی ایک اور وجہِ خصوصیت آئی ایس آئی کے ایک سابق اہلکار میجر عامر کا آبائی گاؤں ہونا بھی ہے۔میجر عامر سیاسی سرگرمیوں کی وجہ سے اخبارات کی زینت رہے ہیں اور بریگیڈئر ریٹائرڈ امتیاز سے جو انٹیلی جینس بیورو کے سربراہ بھی رہے، میجر عامر کا ان کے ساتھ سیاسی تعلق کوئی ڈھکی چھپی بات نہیں۔ میجر عامر مبینہ طور پر سرحد میں پیش آنے والی شدت پسند کی کارروائیوں کو نظریاتی جواز فراہم کرتے ہیں۔ ان کے والد ایک پنج پیری تھے جو کہ وہابی مسلک کی مقامی قسم ہے۔ مولانا صوفی محمد، فقیر، منگل باغ، مفتی منیر شاکر اور فضل اللہ نے بھی پنج پیر سے تعلیم حاصل کی ہے۔
پشاور
آبادی: 3,079,000
’دہشت گردی کے خلاف جنگ‘ میں پشاور ایک فرنٹ لائن شہر بن چکا ہے۔ دھماکے، خود کش حملے، اور اغوا تقریباً معمول بن چکے ہیں۔ پشاور کو تین اطراف سے شدت پسندوں کی پیش قدمی کا سامنا ہے۔ شمال میں مردان اور چارسدہ، مغرب میں مہمند اور خیبر کی قبائلی ایجنسیاں اور جنوب میں درہ آدم خیل میدان جنگ بنے ہوئے ہیں۔
صوبہ سرحد کے دارالحکومت پشاور میں اتحادی افواج کو سامان رسد لے جانے والے گاڑیوں کے اڈوں پر گزشتہ چند ماہ سے حملوں کا سلسلہ جاری ہے جن میں اب تک ایک اندازے کے مطابق چار سو کے قریب گاڑیوں کو تباہ کیا گیا ہے۔ ان میں چند حملوں کی ذمہ داری کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان نے قبول کرلی تھی۔ تحریک کے ترجمان مولوی عمر نے بی بی سی کو بتایا تھا کہ جب تک قبائلی علاقوں میں امریکی جاسوس طیاروں کے حملے بند نہیں ہوتے وہ نیٹو کی سپلائی لائن کاٹتے رہیں گے۔
کوہاٹ
آبادی:826,000
ضلع کوہاٹ نیم قبائلی علاقے درہ آدم خیل سے صرف چند کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر واقع ہے۔ کوہاٹ میں قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں پر حملے ہوچکے ہیں جن میں سکیورٹی فورسز کے علاوہ عام شہری بھی ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔ حال ہی میں ضلع کوہاٹ میں سکیورٹی فورسز نے شدت پسندوں کے ٹھکانوں کے خلاف کارروائی میں پینتیس شدت پسندوں کو ہلاک کرنے کا دعوٰی کیا تھا۔ یہاں بھی شدت پسندوں نے اپنی موجودگی کا احساس پہلے پہل ویڈیو سینٹروں اور کیبل آپریٹروں کے دفاتر پر حملوں سے دلایا۔
ہنگو
آبادی: 461,000
ضلع ہنگو قبائلی علاقے اورکزئی ایجنسی کی سرحد پر واقع ہے جس پر مقامی لوگوں کے مطابق طالبان سربراہ بیت اللہ محسود کے دستِ راست حکیم اللہ محسود کا قبضہ ہے۔ ضلع ہنگو کے ان علاقوں میں طالبان بڑی تعداد میں موجود ہیں جو اورکزئی ایجنسی کے ساتھ جڑتے ہیں۔ بعض مبصرین کے بقول ہنگو اس وجہ سے بھی طالبان کے لیے اہم ہے کیونکہ اس ضلع کی سرحدیں کرم ایجنسی اور وزیرستان سے بھی ملتی ہیں جہاں عسکریت پسند پہلے ہی سرگرم عمل ہیں۔ تجزیہ نگاروں کا خیال ہے کہ طالبان ضلع ہنگو کے دروازے تک تو پہنچ گئے ہیں اور اگر حکومت کی طرف سے مستقل بنیادوں پر اقدامات نہیں اٹھائے گئے تو سارا ضلع آسانی سے ان کے کنٹرول میں آسکتا ہے۔ یہاں دو ہزار چھ میں محرم کے جلوسوں پر خودکش حملہ بھی ہوچکا ہے جس کے بعد سے یہاں فرقہ ورانہ کشیدگی میں اضافہ ہوا ہے۔
بنوں
آبادی: 944,000
بنوں شمالی وزیرستان سے متصل ایک بندوبستی ضلع ہے۔ بنوں میں قانون نافد کرنے والوں پر بڑی تعداد میں حملے ہوچکے ہیں جس میں سکیورٹی اہلکاروں کے علاوہ عام شہری بھی ہلاک ہوئے ہیں۔ شدت پسندوں کے مسلسل دباؤ کی وجہ سے بنوں میں حکومت کی عملداری کمزور ہوئی ہے۔ تاہم یہاں قبائلی نظام کافی مضبوط ہے جس کی وجہ سے مقامی طالبان کو زیادہ کامیابی نہیں مل رہی۔ بنوں متحدہ مجلس عمل کے سابق وزیر اعلی اکرم خان درّانی کا آبائی شہر ہے۔ جمیعت علمائے اسلام کے رہنما مولانا فضل الرحمان نے گزشتہ انتخابات میں نشست یہیں سے جیتی تھی۔
ٹانک
آبادی: 272,000
ٹانک پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقے جنوبی وزیرستان کا گیٹ وے ضلع ہے۔ یہاں قانون نافذ کرنے والے اداروں پر کئی حملے ہوچکے ہیں۔ صوبہ سرحد کے جنوبی اضلاع قبائلی علاقوں کے حالات سے انتہائی متاثر ہیں لیکن ٹانک ان اضلاع میں سب سے زیادہ متاثرہ ضلع ہے۔ یہاں مارچ دو ہزار سات میں سینکڑوں کی تعداد میں شدت پسندوں نے شہر پر حملہ کر کے بڑے پیمانے پر لوٹ مار اور توڑ پھوڑ کی تھی۔ یہ حملہ ان کے ایک ساتھی کی جوکہ شہر کے سکولوں میں طلبہ کو جہاد کی تلقین کر رہے تھے ہلاکت کے بعد انتقام کے طور پر کیا گیا تھا۔
لکی مروت
آبادی: 712,000
لکی مروت شمالی جنوبی وزیرستان کے نواح میں واقع ایک ضلع ہے جہاں پہلے بھی قانون نافد کرنے والوں اور دیگر اداروں پر حملے ہوئے ہیں۔ لکی مروت میں مقامی قبائل بہت طاقتور ہیں۔ یہاں شدت پسندوں اور سکیورٹی فورسز کے درمیان یہاں جھڑپوں کا ایک مسلسل سلسلہ چل رہا ہے۔
ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان (ڈی آئی خان)
آبادی: 1,254,000
دلکش پھولوں اور لذیذ حلووں کی وجہ سے مشہور ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان بھی قبائلی علاقوں اور صوبہ سرحد میں دہشت گردی کے خلاف جاری نام نہاد جنگ کی وجہ سے بری طرح متاثر ہوا ہے۔
صوبے کے انتہائی جنوب میں یہ شہر انڈس ہائی وے پر پشاور سے تقریباً تین سو کلومیٹر کے فاصلے پر واقع ہے۔ اس کی مشرقی جانب اگر صوبہ پنجاب ہے تو مغربی سمت میں خطرناک قرار دیا جانے والا وزیرستان واقع ہے۔
ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان جو کبھی امن کا گہوارا تھا اب پر تشدد کارروائیوں کا مرکز بنا ہوا ہے۔ یہاں ظاہری طور پر دو گروہ سرگرم نظر آتے ہیں۔ ان میں ایک تو فرقہ وارانہ تشدد میں ملوث ہے تو دوسرا وہ گروہ ہے جو سکیورٹی فورسز کو نشانہ بنا رہا ہے۔ ایسے کئی حملوں کی ذمہ داری وزیرستان میں سرگرم طالبان قبول کر چکے ہیں۔
ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان وزیرستان کے قبائلیوں میں سے بڑی تعداد کے لیے موسم سرما میں دوسرے گھر کا درجہ رکھتا ہے لیکن سال دو ہزار آٹھ میں جنوبی وزیرستان میں فوجی کارروائیوں میں شدت آنے سے بڑی تعداد میں قبائلی نقل مکانی کرکے ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان اور اردگرد کے علاقوں میں آباد ہوگئے۔ بعض حکام کے مطابق اس غیرمقامی آبادی میں شدت پسند بھی شامل تھے۔
پولیس کے مطابق ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان میں سن دو ہزار آٹھ میں تشدد کے کل سینتالیس مقدمات درج ہو ئے۔ ان واقعات میں قانون نافذ کرنے والے نو اہلکاروں سمیت چوراسی افراد ہلاک اور ایک سو سے زائد زخمی ہوئے۔ ان میں سکیورٹی فورسز کے اہلکاروں کے علاوہ فرقہ ورانہ ہلاکتیں بھی شامل ہیں۔
جولائی دو ہزار سات میں ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان کی پولیس لائن میں اس وقت خود کش دھماکہ کیا گیا تھا جب پولیس میں بھرتی کا سلسلہ جاری تھا۔ اس کے بعد ڈیرہ شہر کی بنوں روڈ پر دو ایسے دھماکے ہوئے جن کا بظاہر قانون نافذ کرنے والے اہلکار نشانہ تھے۔ بھیانک ترین واقعات میں اگست دو ہزار آٹھ میں ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان کے سول ہسپتال میں کیا جانے والا خود کش حملہ سرفہرست تھا۔ یہ اس وقت ہوا جب ٹارگٹ کلنگ کا نشانہ بنے والے شیعہ مذہب سے تعلق رکھنے والے ایک زخمی شخص کو ایمرجنسی وارڈ لایا گیا تھا۔ اس واقعہ میں لگ بھگ بتیس افراد ہلاک اور پچپن زخمی ہو گئے تھے۔ اس حملے کی ذمہ داری طالبان نے قبول کی تھی۔
ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان شہر میں عمومی طور پر عوام میں خوف پایا جاتا ہے۔ سکیورٹی فورسز نے اپنی حفاظت کے اقدامات بڑھا دیے ہیں۔ یہ شاید اس زیادہ آگاہی اور احتیاط کا نتیجہ ہے کہ دسمبر دو ہزار آٹھ میں ایک مبینہ خود کش حملہ آور شکیل کو اس وقت گرفتار کر لیا گیا جب وہ اہل تشیع کی ایک مسجد میں نماز جمعہ کے وقت موجود تھا۔
وزیرستان میں شدت پسندوں پر ہوئے حملوں کا بدلہ بھی وہ ڈیرہ میں اکثر لیتے رہتے ہیں۔ دسمبر میں ڈیرہ شہر میں پہلی مرتبہ راکٹ باری کا سلسلہ بھی شروع ہوا۔ آٹھ منٹ میں آٹھ راکٹ شہر کے مختلف مقامات پر داغے گئے تاہم ان سے کوئی جانی نقصان نہیں ہوا۔ راکٹ حملوں کی ذمہ داری جنوبی وزیرستان میں مقامی طالبان کے امیر ملا نذیر نے قبول کی تھی۔
ڈیرہ اسماعیل خان ایک مشکل دور سے گزر رہا ہے۔ فرقہ ورانہ اور شدت پسندی کے ذریعے اسے دو مختلف سمتوں میں گھسیٹا جا رہا ہے۔ قبائلی علاقوں میں قیام امن اور فرقہ ورانہ تنظیموں پر قابو کے بغیر اس شہر میں امن و آشتی ناممکن دکھائی دیتی ہے۔
خطرے میں
ڈیرہ غازی خان (ڈی جی خان)
آبادی: 2,429,000
پنجاب کے شہر ڈیرہ غازی خان کی سرحد صوبہ سرحد کے ساتھ ملتی ہے۔ اس علاقے میں فرقہ وارانہ کشیدگی پائی جاتی ہے۔ رواں سال فروری کے مہینے میں ڈیرہ غازی خان میں اہل تشیع کے ماتمی جلوس پر خودکش حملہ ہوا تھا جس میں تیس سے زائد افراد ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔ واقعہ کے بعد شہر میں ہنگامے پھوٹ پڑے تھے۔ تحریک طالبان درہ آدم خیل نے اس حملے کی ذمہ داری قبول کی تھی۔ طالبان ترجمان کا کہنا تھا کہ انہوں نے پہلے ہی یہ دھمکی دے رکھی تھی کہ اگر حکومت نے درہ آدم خیل میں فوجی کارروائی ختم نہیں کی اور ان کے ساٹھ گرفتار شدہ ساتھیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا گیا تو آئندہ وہ صوبہ پنجاب میں اپنی کارروائیاں کریں گے۔
راجن پور
آبادی: 1,624,000
راجن پور پنجاب کا سرحدی ضلع ہے۔ لال مسجد کے غازی عبدالرشید اور مولانا عبدالعزیز کا تعلق اسی ضلع سے ہے۔ لال مسجد فائرنگ میں ہلاک ہونے والے غازی عبدالرشید کی قبر اسی ضلع میں بنائی گئی ہے جہاں متعدد مدرسے بھی ہیں۔
بہاولپور
آبادی: 3,501,000
متعدد دینی مدرسوں اور چند ایک شدت پسند تنظیموں کا مرکز بہاولپور ہے۔ کالعدم تنظیم جیش محمد کا ہیڈکوارٹر اسی شہر میں ہے۔ اس تنظیم کے سربراہ مولانا مسعود اظہر کو طیارہ ہائی جیک کیس میں مسافروں کی رہائی کے عوض انڈین جیل سے رہا کرایا گیا تھا جس کے بعد یہ کھلے عام پاکستان میں موجود رہے۔ کچھ عرصے پہلے چند پاکستانی حکام نے ان کی نظر بندی کا اعلان کیا لیکن بعد میں کہا گیا کہ وہ مفرور ہیں۔ برطانیہ طیارہ سازش کیس کا مفرور مرکزی ملزم راشد رؤف کا تعلق بھی اسی شہر سے ہے۔ پاکستان پولیس کو سب سے زیادہ مطلوب مطیع الرحمان کا تعلق بہاولپور کے نواحی قصبے یزمان سے بتایا جاتا ہے۔ بہالپور میں فرقہ وارانہ تشدد اور ٹارگٹ کلنگ کے متعدد واقعات ہوچکے ہیں۔
بہاولنگر
آبادی: 2,743,000
بہاولنگر میں فروری سنہ دوہزار آٹھ کے عام انتخابات کے دوران دو مبینہ خود کش حملہ آور سابق وفاقی وزیر مذہبی امور اعجاز الحق کی قیام گاہ کے نزدیک دھماکہ میں ہلاک ہوگئے۔سکیورٹی فورسز کا خیال تھا کہ وہ یا تو اعجاز الحق یا پھر بے نظیر بھٹو کے غائبانہ نماز جنازہ پر حملہ کرنا چاہتے تھے لیکن قبل از وقت بارود پھٹ گیا۔ بہاولنگر میں دیوبندی سنیوں اور اہل تشیع کے اہم مدرسے ہیں جہاں دنیا بھر سے مسلمان مذہبی علوم کے حصول کے لیے آتے ہیں۔کالعدم لشکر جھنگوی اور سپاہ محمد کے کے متعدد مطلوب کارکنوں کا تعلق اسی شہر سے ہے۔شیعہ تنظیم کے سید اسد شاہ اب بھی مطلوب ہیں اور ان کی زندہ مردہ گرفتاری پر بیس لاکھ روپے انعام ہے۔کالعدم لشکر جھنگوی کے گرفتار غلام رسول شاہ،رانا اکرم اور رفاقت اسی ضلع کے رہائشی ہیں۔
مظفر گڑھ
آبادی: 3,928,000
مظفرگڑھ میں یوں تو فرقہ وارانہ تشدد کے واقعات ہوتے رہے ہیں لیکن گزشتہ برس مظفرگڑھ، نواحی علاقوں کوٹ ادولیہ وغیرہ میں چند دکانوں پر ایسے پمفلٹ تقسیم کیے گئے جو بظاہر تحریک طالبان پنجاب کی جانب سے تحریر کردہ تھے۔ ان خطوط نما پمفلٹ میں خواتین کو بے پردہ نکلنے اور سی ڈی کیبل کے کاروبار بند کرنے کی ہدایت کی گئی تھی اور حکم عدولی کی صورت میں بم دھماکوں سمیت دیگر سنگین اقدامات کی دھمکی دی گئی تھی۔ ان دھکمیوں پر فی الحال عمل تو نہیں ہوا لیکن ان کا خوف اب بھی علاقے میں پایا جاتا ہے۔
جھنگ
آبادی: 3,664,000
جھنگ کو پاکستان بلکہ برصغیر میں شیعہ سنی فساد کا مرکز قرار دیا جائے تو غلط نہیں ہوگا۔ اسی کی دہائی میں مولانا حق نواز جھنگوی نے دیوبندی سنی مسلمانوں کی انتہا پسند تنظیم انجمن سپاہ صحابہ کی بنیاد رکھی جھنگ میں فرقہ وارانہ تشدد اور فسادات کے ان گنت واقعات ہوئے جس میں سینکڑوں شیعہ سنی اور عام غیر جانبدار افراد ہلاک و زخمی ہوئے۔ کالعدم سپاہ صحابہ کے بانی مولانا حق نواز جھنگوی کی وصیت کے مطابق اس تنظیم کا جو بھی سربراہ منتخب یا مقرر ہوتا ہے وہ جھنگ میں سکونت اختیار کرتا ہے۔ جھنگ میں آج بھی انتخابات ہوں تو ووٹوں کی تقسیم شیعہ سنی کی بنیاد پر ہی ہوتی ہے۔ لشکر جھنگوی اسی سپاہ صحابہ سے الگ ہونے والے عسکریت پسند کارکنوں کی کالعدم تنظیم ہے اور اس تنظیم کا نام پاکستان میں ہونے والے بڑے پرتشدد واقعات میں آتا ہے۔ پاکستانی پولیس کو مطلوب سب سے زیادہ افراد کا تعلق اسی تنظیم سے ہے۔
بھکر
آبادی: 1,450,000
پنجاب کے شہر بھکر میں فرقہ وارانہ کشیدگی پائی جاتی ہے۔ گزشتہ سال اکتوبر میں بھکر میں پاکستان مسلم لیگ نواز کے قومی اسمبلی کے رکن رشید اکبر نورانی کے ڈیرے پر خودکش حملے میں کم از کم بیس افراد ہلاک اور رشید نوانی سمیت پچاس سے زائد زخمی ہوئے تھے۔ تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے ترجمان نے اس حملے سے لاتعلقی ظاہر کی تھی۔ کئی پاکستانی اخبارات نے بھکر حملے کے تانے بانے فرقہ وارانہ تشدد سے جوڑنے کی کوشش کی تھی۔ دی نیوز اخبار نے ایک رپورٹ میں تحقیق کاروں کے حوالے سے کہا تھا کہ انہیں شک ہے یہ کالعدم تنظیم لشکر جھنگوی کا کام ہوسکتا ہے۔
میانوالی
آبادی: 1,397,000
پنجاب کے شہر میانوالی کی سرحد صوبہ سرحد کے ساتھ ملتی ہیں۔ فروری میں میانوالی میں قدرت آباد پولیس چیک پوسٹ پر فائرنگ اور بموں کے استعمال سے آٹھ پولیس والے ہلاک ہوئے تھے۔ تحریک طالبان درہ آدم خیل نے اس حملے کی ذمہ داری قبول کی تھی۔ طالبان ترجمان کا کہنا تھا کہ انہوں نے پہلے ہی یہ دھمکی دے رکھی تھی کہ اگر حکومت نے درہ آدم خیل میں فوجی کارروائی ختم نہیں کی اور ان کے ساٹھ گرفتار شدہ ساتھیوں کو رہا نہیں کیا گیا تو آئندہ وہ صوبہ پنجاب میں اپنی کارروائیاں کریں گے۔
چکوال
آبادی: 1,373,000
صوبہ پنجاب کے شہر چکوال میں بھی فرقہ ورانہ تشدد کی کارروائیاں دیکھنے میں آئی ہیں۔اپریل کے شروع میں شہر کے وسط میں واقع امام بارگاہ کے قریب ایک خود کش حملہ اس وقت ہوا جب امام بارگاہ میں سالانہ مجلس ہو رہی تھی اور وہاں لوگوں کی ایک بڑی تعداد موجود تھی۔ بعد میں خود کو 'تحریک طالبان پنجاب‘ کا ترجمان ظاہر کرنے والے ایک شخص نے چکوال میں ہوئے خودکش حملے کی ذمہ داری قبول کی اور اعلان کیا کہ بیت اللہ محسود کی سرپرستی میں پنجاب میں طالبان کی یہ نئی تنظیم آئندہ چند روز میں صوبہ پنجاب میں اس طرح کی مزید وارداتیں کرنے کی منصوبہ بندی کر رہی ہے۔
حکومت کے زیرِ کنٹرول
جن علاقوں میں شدت پسند کارروائیوں یا شدت پسندوں کی موجودگی کی اطلاع نہیں ہے ان میں چترال، ہری پور، ایبٹ آباد، مانسہرہ، چارسدہ اور کرک سر فہرست ہیں۔
چترال
صوبہ سرحد کا انتہائی شمالی ضلع چترال صوبہ کا رقبے کے اعتبار سے سب سے بڑا ضلع ہے۔ امریکی ذرائع ابلاغ وقتاً فوقتاً اس علاقے میں القاعدہ کی اعلیٰ ترین قیادت کی موجودگی کی خبریں دیتا رہا ہے تاہم اس بابت کوئی گرفتاری یا موجودگی کی مصدقہ اطلاع نہیں ملی ہے۔ ماضی میں یہاں ایک عاد بار فلاحی تنظیموں پر حملے بھی ہوئے لیکن یہ واقعات مقامی نوعیت کے رہے۔ طالبان کی یہاں موجودگی کی کوئی زیادہ شواہد نہیں ملے ہیں۔ اس کی ایک وجہ شاید اس ضلع میں غیر پختون مقامی آبادی بھی ہوسکتی ہے۔ یہ ضلع اور یہاں کی آبادی باقی صوبہ سے کافی مختلف ہیں۔ یہاں کی مقامی زبان بھی خوار کہلاتی ہے۔ اس ضلع کے لوگ پرامن اور دیانتدار مشہور ہیں۔
ہزارہ ڈویژن
صوبہ سرحد کے ہری پور، ایبٹ آباد اور مانسہرہ کے اضلاع میں اکثر مقامی آبادی غیرپختون ہے۔ اس سیاحتی اور فوج میں بھرتی کے اعتبار سے اہم علاقے ہیں لہذا یہاں شدت پسندی کے زیادہ شواہد نہیں ملے ہیں۔ اگرچہ دو ہزار پانچ کے تباہ کن زلزلے کے بعد یہاں سرگرم چند غیرسرکاری تنظیموں کو دھمکیاں بھی ملیں اور حملے بھی ہوئے تاہم وہ مقامی سطح اور ناراض متاثرین کے گرد زیادہ گھومتے ہیں۔
کرک
صوبہ سرحد کا کرک وہ صوبہ ہے جہاں سے نیم فوجی ملیشیا فرنٹیر کور میں سب سے زیادہ بھرتی ہوتی ہے۔ یہاں تعلیم بھی باقی اضلاع سے زیادہ ہے اور بےروزگاری بھی قدرے کم ہے۔
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/05/090504_taleban_map.shtml
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All-female madrasas boom in Pakistan: The next generation of sectarian and jihadi terrorists?
All-female madrasas boom in Pakistan
Almost 2,000 registered Islamic religious schools for girls provide more than half of all candidates in graduate-level exams
Riazat Butt, Religious affairs correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 14 May 2009 18.47 BST
Female madrasas in Pakistan are expanding at a dramatic rate, educating almost a quarter of a million young women and providing more than half of the candidates sitting graduate-level exams every year.
There are more than 1,900 registered all-female madrasas in the country, around 15% of the total, that are experiencing a boom thanks to the failures of the Pakistani education system and an increasing appetite for traditional Islamic values among the lower middle classes.
Female madrasas were virtually unheard of in Pakistan before the late 1970s; the religious institutions have always been aimed at males.
The boom in female madrasas has led to the funding of a project to examine their impact. An Oxford academic, Dr Masooda Bano, has received more than £400,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council to study their appeal and their students.
According to the latest statistics from the Pakistani government, nearly 236,000 girls are studying in almost 2,000 madrasas. Female students exceed males in their academic achievements, with a greater number registering for graduate exams and enjoying a higher pass rate.
Female madrasas charge fees, unlike their male equivalents, and existing figures on madrasas account for registered schools only. The number of unofficial madrasas for both sexes could be much higher.
Bano said: "Parents who send their daughters to madrasas are lower middle class, and the girls who enter are aged between 16 and 20. Most say it was their choice. There is an emergence of a very conservative value system. Madrasas promote traditional roles for women and students feel confident about their position in society. You cannot associate this phenomena with poverty."
She claimed that madrasas gave women economic and social opportunities. Students could offer private tuition in religious education, increasing their respectability and upward mobility.
As part of her research, she will also explore the links between the growth in all-female madrasas in Pakistan and religious militancy in the country. Part of her work will focus on Jamia Hafza, the female madrasa attached to the Red Mosque in Islamabad, where 100 students died defending sharia law during an armed struggle with the state.
Students who played an active role in the resistance, and the parents of those who died, will be traced and interviewed about their perceptions of the resistance and the impact on their own religious conviction. A central theme is looking at whether the use of military force as a strategy acts as a militancy check or whether it further radicalises believers.
She said: "The female madrasas provide a lens to study the uncertain interface between traditional values and beliefs and global influences that often results in further radicalisation of the traditional beliefs. Being focused on Pakistan, a nuclear armed country at the centre of global concerns about Islamic militancy, should mean that these findings have major policy significance."
She added that while there were no "explicit links" between the madrasas and militancy, it was something she would be exploring. "You don't get involved with militancy but they [students] are capable of spreading support and sympathy for Islamic groups."
A third part of her study will focus on those involved in military operations aimed at combating religious militancy. Officials of the military brigade that carried out the Red Mosque operation will be interviewed about their experience. They were later targeted in suicide attacks that caused more than 30 deaths after the operation. Interviews will also take place with officials from the Pakistani armed forces who resigned or faced being court-martialed for refusing to take part in anti-Taliban operations.
Read more...
Almost 2,000 registered Islamic religious schools for girls provide more than half of all candidates in graduate-level exams
Riazat Butt, Religious affairs correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 14 May 2009 18.47 BST
Female madrasas in Pakistan are expanding at a dramatic rate, educating almost a quarter of a million young women and providing more than half of the candidates sitting graduate-level exams every year.
There are more than 1,900 registered all-female madrasas in the country, around 15% of the total, that are experiencing a boom thanks to the failures of the Pakistani education system and an increasing appetite for traditional Islamic values among the lower middle classes.
Female madrasas were virtually unheard of in Pakistan before the late 1970s; the religious institutions have always been aimed at males.
The boom in female madrasas has led to the funding of a project to examine their impact. An Oxford academic, Dr Masooda Bano, has received more than £400,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council to study their appeal and their students.
According to the latest statistics from the Pakistani government, nearly 236,000 girls are studying in almost 2,000 madrasas. Female students exceed males in their academic achievements, with a greater number registering for graduate exams and enjoying a higher pass rate.
Female madrasas charge fees, unlike their male equivalents, and existing figures on madrasas account for registered schools only. The number of unofficial madrasas for both sexes could be much higher.
Bano said: "Parents who send their daughters to madrasas are lower middle class, and the girls who enter are aged between 16 and 20. Most say it was their choice. There is an emergence of a very conservative value system. Madrasas promote traditional roles for women and students feel confident about their position in society. You cannot associate this phenomena with poverty."
She claimed that madrasas gave women economic and social opportunities. Students could offer private tuition in religious education, increasing their respectability and upward mobility.
As part of her research, she will also explore the links between the growth in all-female madrasas in Pakistan and religious militancy in the country. Part of her work will focus on Jamia Hafza, the female madrasa attached to the Red Mosque in Islamabad, where 100 students died defending sharia law during an armed struggle with the state.
Students who played an active role in the resistance, and the parents of those who died, will be traced and interviewed about their perceptions of the resistance and the impact on their own religious conviction. A central theme is looking at whether the use of military force as a strategy acts as a militancy check or whether it further radicalises believers.
She said: "The female madrasas provide a lens to study the uncertain interface between traditional values and beliefs and global influences that often results in further radicalisation of the traditional beliefs. Being focused on Pakistan, a nuclear armed country at the centre of global concerns about Islamic militancy, should mean that these findings have major policy significance."
She added that while there were no "explicit links" between the madrasas and militancy, it was something she would be exploring. "You don't get involved with militancy but they [students] are capable of spreading support and sympathy for Islamic groups."
A third part of her study will focus on those involved in military operations aimed at combating religious militancy. Officials of the military brigade that carried out the Red Mosque operation will be interviewed about their experience. They were later targeted in suicide attacks that caused more than 30 deaths after the operation. Interviews will also take place with officials from the Pakistani armed forces who resigned or faced being court-martialed for refusing to take part in anti-Taliban operations.
Read more...
Shafqat Mahmood: Imran Khan's strange politics
It is in tough times that a nation's mettle is tested and we have not faced such challenges since 1971. Besides the rigours of war that our brave soldiers are fighting with grit and determination, we face a huge humanitarian crisis.
The government may be lagging behind in its relief effort but the ordinary people are coming through. From impromptu relief camps to truckloads of supplies from citizen groups, and an overwhelming urge to give cash, there is a visible anguish for the displaced people of Malakand.
Unfortunately, the state machinery is not moving as quickly. An announcement on behalf of the prime minister that all banks would receive donations has not been followed through. Until Thursday morning, even some of the more prominent Pakistani banks had not received instructions to open PM's relief account.
Incidentally, is it too much to ask that there be some coordination of the appeals for donations made by various government entities? If advertisements in the papers are any guide, at least four separate calls have been made and there may be as many as six.
There is the Prime Minister's fund and of the NWFP government. In Punjab, the governor and the chief minister have made separate appeals. (Why?). I am not aware of it but Sindh and Baluchistan governments may have also done something similar.
Is it impossible to have just one fund? If there were, it would be easier for people to give and for the banks to manage. But, then this would be asking our leadership to display some hidden executive talent. Let us face it; these people are good politicians but management is not one of their virtues.
On the battle field, our armed forces seem to be doing well. I am no military expert but they appear to be going about their task unhurriedly and with great care. Fighting insurgencies is not easy as it is not the conventional warfare armies are trained for. But, whatever evidence we have, of this and the earlier Bajaur operation, our armed forces are adapting and beginning to win.
On the political front, it is sad that even when we are in a virtual state of war, there are discordant voices. Some PML-N members continue to make speeches against the operation and against the army in the National Assembly. This is unhelpful considering that the both Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif have taken an unequivocal stand against the terrorists. Maybe these members should check with their leadership before holding forth.
However, no one has been more disappointing in this regard than Imran Khan. I have great respect for what he has achieved on the cricket field. He was an inspirational captain, a great player and his integrity was beyond doubt. His disdain for money in particular was something to admire in an era of match fixing and other shenanigans.
In social work, what he has accomplished in the shape of Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital is truly stupendous. Not only is it the best-run hospital in Pakistan, it provides free medical treatment to thousands of poor patients. What is more, the lack of any VIP culture in hospital management is a personal tribute to the vision and leadership of Imran Khan.
When it comes to politics and policy though, the same Imran is unfortunately a signal failure. It can be truly said of him that he never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. He could have teamed up with Nawaz Sharif in 1997 and got his party a presence in parliament. He did not.
He flip-flopped with Musharraf -- supporting him in the rigged referendum, opposing him in the ensuing general election -- and got the worst of both worlds. And, he boycotted the 2007 election when being in parliament (provided he won) would have made a great deal more sense.
These examples are of power politics and it may be argued that parliamentary success or power are no measure of a person's success as a politician. Fine, let us look at his policy prescriptions.
From the start of his political career, he railed against something called western culture, which was a straight forward rejection of modernisation. In a country that was being pulled back by obscurantist mullahs, this was a strange choosing of sides. I will not even go into the personal choices he made while doing this.
His second fixation was the idealisation of a Pakhtun tribal culture. Again, I will avoid psychoanalysing a Punjabi's identity crisis, but how a semi-literate and simple rural people could become a role model for a rapidly urbanising and complex Pakistani society was not easy to understand.
Granted that their inter-tribal dealings were egalitarian and perhaps the tribal councils or jirgas worked well, but how this model could be transplanted in other parts of the country, was neither explained by Imran nor obvious.
In between, he took some correct positions on the judiciary question and against Musharraf but badly fumbled while trying to prosecute Altaf Hussain in England. A politician should know which battles can be won and which are a lost cause. Imran vowed to go after Altaf Hussain in England and declared victory even before he had presented his case before the British government. As was expected, nothing has happened despite his various entreaties to the high and mighty in that country.
But, all these mistakes pale in comparison when measured up against his obsessive, single track refusal to understand that these barbarian hordes targeting FATA and Malakand division are a threat to our country. He has just one mantra that this is America's fault, America's fault, America… etc. America has contributed to it but is that the only problem we confront?
He cannot or does not want to understand that these people are linked up with Al Qaeda and actually do have an agenda of taking over our country. If he does not want to believe a 'westernised liberal' like me, he should read Saleem Saafi in Jang or others that know these people well.
In any case, how can he condone what these people are doing? Cutting people's throats, lashing women, destroying all schools not just girls', indulging in kidnapping and extortion and unleashing a reign of terror to subdue the people, are just some of their crimes. Above all, these people have taken up arms against the state. Why can't he see all this?
He should listen to the stories of the displaced people now that they are out of the Taliban fear zone. They describe the Taliban as bloody thirsty criminals. It is sad that Imran visualises them as some kind of higher beings or fighters of Islam responding to American presence in Afghanistan. Please!
In this difficult time for the country, he is on the wrong side of history. No one doubts that American presence in Afghanistan has seriously contributed to our troubles. There is also a possibility that the Americans may have an evil eye on our nuclear programme.
But, we must also remember that barbarian hordes linked to Al Qaeda also have designs on our country and threaten our way of life. We have no choice but to fight them.
Imran must stand by his people and the armed forces. He should rise above his prejudices and help in the fight for Pakistan. (The News,k 15 May).
Email: shafqatmd@gmail.com
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Thursday, 14 May 2009
Mythbusters: Some myths about Taliban, Islam and America - by Dr. Tariq Rahman
Anger has focused on sources which have much less to do with our problems than we think - File photo
A cobweb of myths
NOW that a military operation is going on in the Malakand Division it is imperative that it should be supported by the people and that the IDPs should be looked after with all resources at hand and be treated with compassion and respect.
Unfortunately, we have many myths and conspiracy theories which prevent clear thinking and that need to be debunked.
Myth 1: America wants our nuclear weapons and is destabilising Pakistan through the Taliban.
This myth is dangerous because those who subscribe to it also believe that America pays the Taliban to destabilise Pakistan to create an excuse to take away our nuclear weapons. This makes it difficult for the government to fight the Taliban while accepting American aid as the whole thing seems to be a cruel hoax to ordinary Pakistanis.
The US has over 5,400 nuclear warheads and it is thousands of kilometres away from this country. Moreover, it allowed Pakistan to develop these weapons. America would not gain if Pakistan is destabilised because then Al Qaeda would be strengthened and that would threaten America.
During the 1971 war America warned India not to overrun (West) Pakistan because it was not in America’s interest to destabilise South Asia any further. In 1999 during the Kargil episode America helped Pakistan to cut its losses without further bloodshed.
During the Afghan war the US wanted to defeat the Soviet Union and paid Pakistan to do so. Pakistan helped because it needed the military aid and money (and Ziaul Haq wanted American support). And now, once again, America wants to defeat the Islamic militants because they threaten America and Pakistan needs the money. That is what the Kerry-Lugar bill is for and that is precisely why the IMF and the Friends of Pakistan consortium have lent Pakistan billions of dollars. It is not in America’s interest to destabilise Pakistanbecause if it breaks up or is Talibanised it will be a threat to America.
So, while America’s policies might not be the most productive, it makes no sense to claim that the Taliban are US agents in a conspiracy against our nuclear weapons.
Myth 2: Nothing gets done in Pakistan unless America wants it to happen.
This is a different version of the previous myth and it is not true. No country is so powerful that it can get everything done. Pakistan made friends with communist China againstAmerica’s wishes. Later, it was the US which sought American help to develop its own relations with China. Pakistan also developed nuclear weapons against American wishes. During the lawyers’ movement America was a supporter of Musharraf until he turned weak and it was no longer in America’s interest to support him.
Myth 3: The Taliban want Islam in the country but their approach is wrong.
This depends on personal interpretations of the Sharia. The Taliban want to impose their version of it. However, it is not only a matter of approach, it is also a matter of the interpretation of the Sharia. In fact the Taliban version of the Sharia would make life joyless for all and a torture for women. Secondly, the country would lose a pool of talent to other countries. Thirdly, productivity would decrease as Pakistan would be isolated.
Fourthly, science and technology, indeed all knowledge, would suffer as creative minds would be stifled in an atmosphere of fear. Fifthly, either the US or India or Iran would be so alarmed as to attack us or stop all foreign aid to us because such a regime would be a threat to their way of life and religious practices. Lastly, the Taliban is a name for disparate groups and gangs. They would fight for power, making us another Afghanistan.
Myth 4: If Nato forces withdraw from Afghanistan there will be peace.
Nato forces should withdraw from Afghanistan as a matter of principle but this will not end Talibanisation. Indeed, if Nato forces withdraw, parts of Afghanistan will be ruled by the Taliban once again. If Pakistan sides with them it will be isolated by the rest of the world. If it does not, it will have a hostile neighbour. In either case the Taliban worldview will be strengthened in Pakistan.
The groups seeking power in order to enforce Taliban-style Sharia in Pakistan will continue their attempt to succeed. This will mean that the danger to girls’ schools, women’s freedom of choice in moving around, dress code, art and music will remain under threat.
However, in addition to the principle that one does not want any country to occupy another, one would want America to withdraw since the occupation creates a backlash. So, even at the risk of strengthening the Talibanisation of the Pashto-speaking areas our government and thinkers should raise their voice for a Nato withdrawal. When this happensPakistan will find it easier to fight the Taliban because Pakistanis will stop calling it an anti-colonial war.
Myth 5: Islamic militancy is created by poverty and ignorance.
This is only partly true. The family background of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musaib al-Zarqawi (killed in 2006) — all leading lights of Islamic militancy — cannot be called a poverty-stricken one. Osama’s family is among the richest globally. Zawahiri comes from a distinguished Egyptian family. Zarqawi’s father was an army officer and mayor of a town in Jordan called Zarqa.
Nor is the leadership illiterate. All were educated though not in the liberal arts or the social sciences. The fact is that their ideas about using militancy to defeat what is perceived as western domination (called ‘Crusaders’ by them) and the corrupt ruling elites of the Muslim world emanate from Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood and Abd al-Salam Faraj of Egypt. Indeed, they go back to Taqi Uddin Ibu Taymiyya (1263-1328) who lived during the tumultuous time of the Mongol invasions.
The leadership disseminates ideas about the permanent grievances of Muslims, such asIsrael’s domination of Palestinian land, to young people who burn with a sense of outrage. Here the poverty nexus does come in since the ordinary rank and file of militant movements come from poor, unhappy, violence-prone households. They want money, respect and justice and these are promised to these deprived angry young men. They then become cannon fodder for the militants.
If we understand these and other myths and realise that we have created our own Frankensteins and not foreign countries; that most of the militants are our people and not foreigners (though some are); that foreign countries may help militants but are not powerful enough to keep them alive for ever; that we made mistakes in the past of which we are reaping the harvest — then we can still make Pakistan safe for our children. (Dawn, 14 May 2009)
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Saturday, 9 May 2009
Do the Swatis exist?
Only till two weeks before, Pakistan’s overwhelmingly right wing media, the traditionally left leaning Awami National Party (ANP), the born again Islamists like Imran Khan, right of the centre Nawaz League, and the centrist Zardari People’s Party were applauding the agreement between the ANP government and the Taliban. With the honorable exception of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), the entire political leadership of Pakistan ganged up and pushed the ANP-Taliban agreement through the national assembly without a word by way of debate. This was a complete disgrace to whatever democracy stands for. There were people like Dr Hoodbhai who called the agreement an appeasement, but all the dissenting voices, very few of them indeed, were killed off by the government and the media. It was claimed that soon the agreement would result in total peace in Swat. TV channels cried hoarse claiming that the people of Swat had been dying for the agreement. “The people of Swat want peace and this agreement will restore peace”. TV reporters gave countless “verbatim” accounts of the sudden explosions of joy in every part of the Swat valley. I remember watching a foul-mouthed anchor, who is dead sure there are Jews and Hindus behind every trouble in Pakistan, claiming that “a wave of euphoria has swept the entire peace-loving people of Swat who are willing to sacrifice everything for peace and Islam”.
Interestingly, no Swatis were ever interviewed to voice the above claims.
And now that the Pakistan Army has declared a war on the Taliban, the media and the political leadership including the ANP have started claiming that the Taliban are not only terrorists of the worst kind, they want to take over the entire country. Now anchor after anchor and reporter after reporter is giving “verbatim” accounts of what the Swatis are saying: “We are willing to pay any price to get rid of the Taliban and restore peace in the Swat valley.” Suddenly the tables have turned. And yet, few Swatis have said what they want. If the media shows interviews of non-Swatis posing as Swatis, that would be another matter.
Do the Swatis exist? If they do, what do they want? Has any journalist or politician gone to the people of Swat to find out? On whose command was the nation of Pakistan told that the Swatis were happy with the Taliban? By what process have the Swatis undergone a complete change of heart?
The question is: who is behind all this show. On whose command do the journalists, opinion makers, and politicians paint utopia and then dystopia? On whose discretion do people become freedom fighters, and then the same freedom fighters terrorists? If it was important to bring the ANP-Taliban agreement in the parliament, why was the parliament not asked to endorse the decision to wage the war?
Abbas Zaidi
Read more...
Interestingly, no Swatis were ever interviewed to voice the above claims.
And now that the Pakistan Army has declared a war on the Taliban, the media and the political leadership including the ANP have started claiming that the Taliban are not only terrorists of the worst kind, they want to take over the entire country. Now anchor after anchor and reporter after reporter is giving “verbatim” accounts of what the Swatis are saying: “We are willing to pay any price to get rid of the Taliban and restore peace in the Swat valley.” Suddenly the tables have turned. And yet, few Swatis have said what they want. If the media shows interviews of non-Swatis posing as Swatis, that would be another matter.
Do the Swatis exist? If they do, what do they want? Has any journalist or politician gone to the people of Swat to find out? On whose command was the nation of Pakistan told that the Swatis were happy with the Taliban? By what process have the Swatis undergone a complete change of heart?
The question is: who is behind all this show. On whose command do the journalists, opinion makers, and politicians paint utopia and then dystopia? On whose discretion do people become freedom fighters, and then the same freedom fighters terrorists? If it was important to bring the ANP-Taliban agreement in the parliament, why was the parliament not asked to endorse the decision to wage the war?
Abbas Zaidi
Read more...
Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC): Peaceful Barelvis rise against the Taliban criminals
Eight Sunni parties form alliance against Talibanisation
Saturday, May 09, 2009
By our correspondent
LAHORE: Eight parties of the Barelvi school of thought have formed an alliance under the banner of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to wage a joint struggle against the growing Talibanisation in the country.
The alliance has demanded of the Pakistan Army to speed up its operation to eliminate the Taliban from the NWFP and the Fata, and appealed to the nation to get united against the menace.
Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Friday, central leaders of the SIC component parties announced the launching of the “Save Pakistan Movement” all over the country to stem the menace of Talibanisation. They said all SIC parties would fully participate in the All Pakistan Ulema and Mashaikh Convention being held in Islamabad on May 17 at the invitation of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, while the first meeting of the SIC would be held on May 18 in Rawalpindi to chalk out its future strategy.
They termed the Taliban a product of global anti-Islam conspiracies, adding that it was the
reason the Taliban were playing in the hands of Washington to divide the Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam. They said the Taliban belonged to the same school of thought that was opposed to the creation of Pakistan and they destroyed 10 shrines of holy saints in the NWFP besides killing hundreds of Sunni leaders so far.
The press conference was addressed by Pir Afzal Qadri (Aalmi Tanzim Ahle Sunnat), Qari Zawwar Bahadur (JUP), Dr Ashraf Asif Jalali (Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat), Shadab Raza Qadri (Sunni Tehrik), Mufti Mohammad Khan Qadri (Karawan-e-Islam), Sahibzada Ghulam Murtaza Shazi (Markazi JUP), Mian Khalid Habib Elahi advocate (Nizam-e-Mustafa Party) and Safdar Shah (Jamaat Ahle Sunnat).
The SIC leaders said Sunni Muftis would soon issue religious edicts (Fatwas) against the anti-Islamic practices of the Taliban, and asked the nation to publicly disown the Taliban. The SIC leaders demanded immediate halt to the military operation in Balochistan and ensure administrative rights to the province according to the 1973 Constitution. They asked the political leaders to undertake visits to Balochistan to express solidarity with the Baloch people and announced that a delegation of Ulema and Mashaikh would soon visit Balochistan.
They also demanded an immediate end to US drone attacks and withdrawal of the US army from Afghanistan and Iraq. They said the SIC would provide immediate relief, including food, clothes, shelter and other basic needs, to those who have become homeless as a result of the military operation in Swat. (The News)
....
Is there an Ahle Sunnat option?
Saturday, May 09, 2009
By our correspondent
LAHORE: Eight parties of the Barelvi school of thought have formed an alliance under the banner of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) to wage a joint struggle against the growing Talibanisation in the country.
The alliance has demanded of the Pakistan Army to speed up its operation to eliminate the Taliban from the NWFP and the Fata, and appealed to the nation to get united against the menace.
Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Friday, central leaders of the SIC component parties announced the launching of the “Save Pakistan Movement” all over the country to stem the menace of Talibanisation. They said all SIC parties would fully participate in the All Pakistan Ulema and Mashaikh Convention being held in Islamabad on May 17 at the invitation of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, while the first meeting of the SIC would be held on May 18 in Rawalpindi to chalk out its future strategy.
They termed the Taliban a product of global anti-Islam conspiracies, adding that it was the
reason the Taliban were playing in the hands of Washington to divide the Muslims and bring a bad name to Islam. They said the Taliban belonged to the same school of thought that was opposed to the creation of Pakistan and they destroyed 10 shrines of holy saints in the NWFP besides killing hundreds of Sunni leaders so far.
The press conference was addressed by Pir Afzal Qadri (Aalmi Tanzim Ahle Sunnat), Qari Zawwar Bahadur (JUP), Dr Ashraf Asif Jalali (Markazi Jamaat Ahle Sunnat), Shadab Raza Qadri (Sunni Tehrik), Mufti Mohammad Khan Qadri (Karawan-e-Islam), Sahibzada Ghulam Murtaza Shazi (Markazi JUP), Mian Khalid Habib Elahi advocate (Nizam-e-Mustafa Party) and Safdar Shah (Jamaat Ahle Sunnat).
The SIC leaders said Sunni Muftis would soon issue religious edicts (Fatwas) against the anti-Islamic practices of the Taliban, and asked the nation to publicly disown the Taliban. The SIC leaders demanded immediate halt to the military operation in Balochistan and ensure administrative rights to the province according to the 1973 Constitution. They asked the political leaders to undertake visits to Balochistan to express solidarity with the Baloch people and announced that a delegation of Ulema and Mashaikh would soon visit Balochistan.
They also demanded an immediate end to US drone attacks and withdrawal of the US army from Afghanistan and Iraq. They said the SIC would provide immediate relief, including food, clothes, shelter and other basic needs, to those who have become homeless as a result of the military operation in Swat. (The News)
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Is there an Ahle Sunnat option?
Lahore was witness on Wednesday to an APC of around 20 organisations of the Ahle Sunnat “sect” convened to launch a countrywide movement against Talibanisation and US drone attacks in northern parts of the country. The rubric chosen for the APC was “Save Pakistan” by opposing the Taliban and countering US interference and stopping the conspiracy of separatism in Balochistan. The intent of the clergy that gathered under the Barelvi flag is pious if it is not “facilitated” by an intelligence agency. If it is, there will be dangers ahead.
The Barelvi school of thought is no doubt the dominant jurisprudence (fiqh) in Pakistan but it is not as well politically organised as the Deobandi school. Standing in the middle — and not present at the APC — is the Jama’at-e Islami whose leader, the charismatic Maulana Maududi, eclipsed all religious leaders after Partition with his learning while his party copiously absorbed people of the Barelvi faith. The Deobandis are organised under two JUI parties and half a dozen highly organised jihadi militias. Barelvis have only the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Pakistan (JUP) and Sunni Tehreek, both based in Karachi. The other 18 are all small fry.
The APC has demanded the arrest of Sufi Muhammad of TNSM in Swat and has vowed to hold meetings and do other media campaigns to get the Deobandi Taliban to back off from their militancy and get the US to stop using drones in the tribal areas. Both prospects look unpromising. The Barelvis will never get funding from Al Qaeda and from the Arabs in the Gulf and will remain outgunned in a region where intimidation reigns supreme and the media supports the hard “exportable” Islam that the Taliban propagate.
If it comes to counter-action, the violence of the Taliban has to be opposed by the “monopoly of violence” of the state under the Constitution. The Barelvis are a useful “background noise” that the state would need as it goes out to fight the Taliban. For the Barelvis, the dividend is more popular attraction because the people have become disgusted by the Taliban’s behaviour in Swat. (Daily Times)
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Tanvir Qaiser Shahid
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Talibanisation is a contagious disease. Look around. Do you have a Talib friend, family member, neighbour or colleague? They need your help urgently.
Last week a conservative schoolteacher in Rawalpindi hailed a cab to get to work in the morning. She wore a gown and had covered her head with a 'dupatta’. A few minutes into the journey the bearded taxi driver asked her if she was Muslim. She said she was. Then why she had not covered her head properly, he asked. She responded by explaining that she ordinarily wears a headscarf, but as she was running late that day she was unable to put it on. Such hurry could invite punishment and result in her being dispatched to the hereafter soon, he retorted. At this point she began to shake with fear and tried to reach for her cell phone to seek help. He turned back and grabbed the cell phone. As the taxi had almost reached the school campus, she insisted that she be let out. The driver obliged, but left her with a chilling message: if the female staff of the school failed to observe proper 'pardah’ they would all be sent to God sooner rather than later. Once out of the taxi, this horror-struck woman turned back to see if she could note the registration number of the taxi. The driver was still standing there watching her menacingly. She rushed into the school.
This is no isolated event. Be it warnings delivered to the medical community in NWFP to wear shalwar qameez, or edicts issued to music shops and barbers, or threats communicated to schools, or reports regarding women being harassed in bazaars and public spaces more generally, there has been a surge in vigilante action being carried out by our self-styled moral police. The worst justification for the Nizam-e-Adl regulation comes from liberals within the ANP and the PPP claiming that this legislation doesn’t set up a parallel system of justice, as it is merely procedural law adorned with Islamic nomenclature. Accepting the demand to 'enforce’ religion legitimizes the discourse of bigots and their obscurantist project of personally stepping into God’s shoes to judge fellow Muslims, taking a measure of their sins and delivering divine justice in this world on God’s behalf. The growing intolerance that our society is witnessing with mute horror is fuelled by our odious brand of hypocrisy that encourages double-speak in the name of protecting and preserving tradition, culture and religion.
The growing Talibanization of the mind that Kamila Hyat spoke about in her column this week is a real threat to our fundamental rights and liberties. Simply put it is bigotry, intolerance, obscurantism and coercion practiced in the name of religion that feeds on (a) the fear of change being ushered in by modernity, (b) confusion about the role of religion in the society, and (c) the failure of the state to provide for the basic needs of citizens, including means of subsistence the absence of which renders people desperate and a balanced education without which they lack the tools to question and resist extreme intolerant ideas. The message of the Taliban or other religious bigots can be simple and appealing to a majority of the population that is deprived of basic needs, disempowered and consequently disgruntled. The contract between the citizens and the state is not being honoured by the state and thus the system neither provides for the basic needs of a majority of the citizens nor offers them any real prospect for upward social mobility. This problem of governance is then presented by the maulvi as a consequence of lack of religion.
America, the big Satan, has mesmerized the elites of this country, explains the maulvi. These elites, as agents of the devil, have signed on to modern/western ideas that are taking our society and our country away from our religion. Our miseries are a consequence of our sins and God’s vengeance and the solution is a return to a backward lifestyle that shuns modernity. The appeal of this thesis lies in its simplicity. We are unhappy with the performance of the state and the manner in which it is leading to the creation of a predatory society and crave change. And such change is promised by the maulvi in the name of religion.
We have never candidly spoken about the desired role of religion in our country and no sensible distinction has been between the discourses on what religion is and how it should be practiced. Thus, whether or not Sharia prescribes 'pardah’ is one question, and whether the state has a right to enforce 'pardah’ or citizens have a private right to ensure that others observe 'pardah’ is a separate question. Because we don’t separate the individual right to freely practice religion from the debate on what constitutes the legitimate prescriptions of Islam, an interpretation of Sharia that favours 'pardah’ automatically ends up justifying illegal actions of private citizens coercing and harassing others to abide by an interpretation they prefer.
The Constitution of Pakistan holds out the promise of 'enabling’ citizens to order their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. What the Constitution does is create a right and not an obligation. Except laws that regulate our collective lives as a society, that are informed by Islamic injunctions, the Constitution does not empower the state to 'enforce’ religion in the private lives of citizens. Should a Muslim choose to order his private life in accordance with his understanding of the edicts of the Quran and Sunnah, the state is under an obligation to 'facilitate’ him. And this individual right to freely practice one’s religion includes the right not to be goaded into practicing Islam in a manner that one finds disagreeable. This requires the state and the society to differentiate between propagation and intimidation. Where propagation of religion enters the realm of coercion, the right to freely practice religion becomes a casualty. Thus, the individual right to practice religion freely can only be meaningful if it protects against the type of bigotry being practiced by Sufi Mohammad in Swat or Abdul Aziz in Islamabad.
It is imperative that the distinction between virtue/vice and legality/illegality in the country be kept alive. The growth and spread of bigotry in our society is not only blurring the line between sin and crime, but is also arrogating to private citizens the ability to enforce an obscurantist moral code – a right that citizens don’t have even when it comes to enforcing the law. As aforesaid, the right to practice religion freely in one’s personal life naturally includes the right not to practice religion, just as the right to free speech includes the entitlement not to speak at all. Let people privately judge others for being good or bad Muslims if they so wish. But such judgment must not be allowed to abridge or fetter the constitutionally guaranteed rights and liberties of those being judged. Irrespective of our disagreements over the content and interpretation of Sharia, all those who value the right to profess and practice religion freely can rationally agree that 'enforcing’ a certain brand of Sharia neither falls within the province of the state, nor is a private right of any citizen or a group of citizens.
Further, within the discourse on the content of Sharia, it is imperative to resist the propensity of authoritatively determining whether or not someone is Muslim. Here too, the issue of what Islam allows and disallows as understood by human agency must be distinguished from the authority to declare someone a non-Muslim or oust a Muslim from the circle of Islam. Who are we after all to appropriate to ourselves the divine right of judgment that God has reserved for the day of deliverance? The tendency to readily issue decrees denouncing the faith of fellow Muslims not only makes us more intolerant, exclusive and fractured as a community, but also confuses the rationale and the need to act against militant groups. For example, Sufi Mohammad declares that anyone who doesn’t abide by his view of Sharia will automatically be ousted from the circle of Islam. In turn, maulvis opposed to Sufi emphasize that anyone who supports the Taliban who plan suicide bombings and slaughter Muslims is an infidel. This discourse is unhelpful. The state and the society need to strengthen their resolve to act against the Taliban terrorizing citizens, not because they are infidels or bad Muslims, but because they are criminals and have usurped the lives and liberties of compatriots.
Talibanization of the mind is finding room in our society either because a majority of our population that is religiously inclined continues to confuse its responsibilities toward God with those toward fellow citizens or because we are too timid to defend a lifestyle that might be judged by the religiously inclined. Unless we shun hypocrisy and stand up to defend a legal and social structure that allows us to order our private lives freely, in a secular fashion or in accordance with our own understanding of religion, freedom of religion will continue to be chipped away and more and more vigilantes will develop the urge to play God within Pakistan. (The News, 9 May 2009)
The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad.
Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu
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Farhat Taj: The army finally gets it right
It was retaliation par excellence. A convoy of the Pakistan army was ambushed by Taliban terrorists in the Kanjo area in Swat. The convoy had intended to go to Mangora to reinforce the army units there. Several soldiers died on the spot. The army responded with robust force and attacked the Taliban holding strategic positions on the heights containing Mangora emerald mines. From those heights the Taliban used to attack the Mangora circuit house, where the army was stationed. All the militants on the heights were killed and the state property, the emerald mines, was regained. Moreover, the army conducted successful attacks on other strongholds of the Taliban in Rahimabad and Takhtaband, and killed them there. "I am so pleased to see the forceful attacks. It is like avenging a slap in the face with a kick in the face," said a resident of Swat from Mangora. He also informed me that all the people in Swat were very happy with this retaliatory response of the army. "This is what we expect from the state army and this is how the army must deal with the Taliban beasts," he said further
Moreover, hundreds of Taliban terrorists have besieged the police station in Matta, a stronghold of the Taliban, for three days now. All roads leading to the police station have been mined by the militants so that the security forces could not reach the police station. Policemen and FC soldiers are within the police station. Entire Pakistan should be proud of them. They are resisting the militants, despite the fact that they are short of food, water and fuel. "The resistance of the besieged policemen and soldiers is very reassuring. Our prayers are with them. We love them. May God be with them," people of Swat who I contacted told me.
A wonderful achievement of the besieged policemen and FC soldiers is that they have killed Ibn-e-Aqel, the Taliban leader who was leading the siege of the police station. He was one of the cruelest Taliban leaders. He had mercilessly beheaded civilians, soldiers and policemen in Swat. He was the man who excavated the body of Pir Samiulla, the man who had led an armed resistance against the Taliban. Ibn-e-Aqel was the brother of Ibn-e-Amin, the top Taliban commander in Ber Swat area. Both the brothers have been strong opponents of Afzal Kahn Lala, a leader who stood up to the Taliban in his native village in Swat.
People of Swat say enough is enough. They have suffered enough atrocities. All those in Swat that I am in contact with told me they want the Pakistan army to eliminate the Taliban once and for all. For that purpose, they told me, they were ready to suffer as IDPs for some time. But the army operation must be swift, targeted and must kill the Taliban.
Indeed most Pakhtuns want the Pakistan army to annihilate the Taliban. The army would do itself a good if it crushed the Taliban. The Pakistan army has always had a high reputation in the eyes of the people of NWFP and FATA. This reputation is battered now. The army is seen as unable to eliminate the Taliban, or as ready to kill Pakhtun civilians but tacitly supporting the Taliban. Once Afzal Khan Lala, a veteran ANP politician, told me that he had clearly told Chief of Army Staff General Kayani that people in Swat believed that the army and the Taliban were one and the same. The same is the perception of people all over NWFP and FATA. Retaliations against the Taliban, like those in Swat in the last couple or so days, would improve the reputation of the army among the Pakhtuns.
But retaliations and reactions against the Taliban here and there in bits and pieces are just not enough. The army needs to deal with them all over Pakistan. The Taliban must be eliminated. They must be crushed for good. There are no moderate or good Taliban. There are no Taliban that can be engaged in dialogue. They all are mad beasts.
Look at the track record of the Taliban. They occupy a place. Unleash a reign of terror on the civilians there. Then they give it up and run away for life when faced with huge might. They did that in Kabul when the US bombed them and they will do so in Swat, Buner and Dir, where the army is conducting an operation against them. They will abandon the area and run away to FATA. They will wait in FATA for an appropriate time to reoccupy parts in NWFP.
The army need to be in a proactive mode. It must chase the Taliban in the tribal area and kill them in operations that are offensive not defensive. It must destroy the Taliban and Al Qaeda installations and training camps in FATA. The army must restore the sovereignty of Pakistan and retake the areas in FATA and NWFP that have long been occupied by the Taliban. The Pakistan army must free the Pakhtun citizens of Pakistan, who are forced to live under one of the most brutal occupations of our time.
Pakhtuns are loyal citizens of Pakistan. But they feel abandoned by the state to the Taliban. The Taliban, whether Pakhtun or non-Pakhtun, are the enemies of Pakhtun. The army must show that it stands with the Pakhtuns by eliminating the Taliban. The Taliban understand the language of violence only. The army must aggressively communicate with them in that language.
Moreover, there are Taliban and Al Qaeda hideouts and installations in other parts of Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and southern Punjab. They too have to be taken care of. The state must take control of all jehadi madrassas and must use force, if necessary. (The News, 9 May 2009)
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. Email: bergen34@yahoo.com
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Pakistan goes to war in Swat
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has declared war in Swat and he has all the important stakeholders on board. The peace deal — directly with Sufi Muhammad and indirectly with the Taliban — was sincerely followed by the government in the teeth of many dire predictions of conceding advantage to the Taliban under the guise of sharia embodied in the Nizam-e Adl. But even as Sufi Muhammad parleyed, his son-in-law and warlord Fazlullah violated the pledge of the “stand still” agreement, killed people, destroyed girls’ schools, maltreated women and generally intimidated a population that had returned from their earlier exodus by reposing trust in him.
The army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, says the army will fight till “decisive ascendancy” has been achieved in Swat. The army knows that it is backed by the entire nation. Earlier, when the parliament was briefed by the army on the expanding phenomenon of the Taliban, the reaction from the opposition was that it was “not Pakistan’s war” — and the general tenor of the joint resolution that emerged from it was for withdrawing troops and negotiating with the Taliban. When the NWFP government offered the Nizam-e Adl to Sufi Muhammad, the parliament endorsed its signature into law.
President Asif Zardari’s policy of getting the Nizam-e Adl clearly endorsed by parliament has turned out to be the right policy. The Taliban have offended all the parties that took part in this unanimous vote. The PMLN, which spent most part of 2008 garnering additional political support by positing military operations against the Taliban as “Pakistan fighting America’s war against its own people”, now has grounds for declaring that it “supports the government unconditionally in the greater national interest”. This support is crucial to the conduct of war in Swat. Together, the PPP and the PMLN have almost the entire voting population of Pakistan behind the war.
There is no doubt that there will be a period of attrition in this war. The Taliban of Swat are linked to the Taliban in adjoining territories and they have been preparing for this face-off because they never had any intention of abiding by the peace pledges of Nizam-e Adl. Foreign warriors and fighters external to Swat have always taken part in terrorism there, killing innocent people and spreading fear and intimidation among the common folk. According to ex-secretary FATA Brigadier Mehmood Shah, Uzbek warlord Tahir Yuldashev was only recently injured while engaging with the Pakistani security forces in the Swat region and was removed to South Waziristan for recovery.
Parliament remains the forum where the conduct of the war against the Taliban should continue to be discussed. An APC comprising elected and non-elected entities is not desirable because it will simply increase the complexities of the national consensus on the war. Many groupings may actually not like to be forced into expressing an opinion for or against the military operation. Some like the Jama’at-e Islami and Tehreek-e Insaf have articulated their opposition to it because they still think, wrongly, that it is not Pakistan’s war and that our army has gone out “to kill its own people”. The ANP, which increasingly speaks for the Pashtun majority in Pakistan located partly in Karachi, has decided to back the operation. This backing is in some ways more crucial than the support of all the nay-sayers in the unelected opposition.
A religious reaction against the Taliban has emerged in the rest of Pakistan. It is a good development provided it is not allowed to assume the shape of an anti-Taliban jihadi militia with unpredictable consequences for civil society in the future. The mosques in Punjab are sounding objections to the conduct of the Taliban and their local supporters, but this trend will die down unless the government also takes action against the old jihadis who have now joined the Al Qaeda-Taliban combine. Despite cases going on against them in connection with the Mumbai attacks, they are free to hold local agitprop public meetings and some have been reported as grabbing Barelvi mosques in South Punjab.
The army can do the job provided the civilian governments in the provinces take steps to prevent “revenge attacks” by the Taliban in their territories. Punjab is under a competent leadership which has already pledged to beef up the police to suppress the provincial reflex of dismissing terrorism as a “federal” problem. (Daily Times)
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Friday, 8 May 2009
Is it really declaration of war against Taliban ?
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday announced a full-scale military operation to wipe out the Taliban from the insurgency-hit areas.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that after deliberations and discussions with all stakeholders, the government had decided to call in the military for decisive action against the Taliban.
He said his government had tried all options to resolve the issue peacefully and implemented the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation despite pressure, but its efforts were taken as a sign of weakness.After the peace deal, the Taliban refused to disarm, attacked security forces personnel and checkposts, targeted those who had helped the government restore peace, stopped girls from going to schools and colleges, were disgraceful towards women and made the lives of minorities miserable, the prime minister said.
He said the Taliban challenged the writ of the state and refused to accept the constitution, the parliament and the judiciary. Gilani said his government would not compromise on national sovereignty or bow before the Taliban.
He appealed to the people of Pakistan, the civil society and the media to support the government and the army. Gilani also asked clerics and religious leaders to highlight what he called the true spirit of Islam. The prime minister announced Rs 1 billion for the rehabilitation of the people displaced by the unrest and promised a job to one member from every family that lost an earning member to terrorism.He appealed to the international community to help Pakistan in the rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons and enhancing the capacity of its security forces. (Daily Times)
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Army told to crush Swat militants
•Militants mistook govt’s sincerity for weakness •Women subjected to discrimination •PML-N, ANP, JUP back operation •Rs1bn allocated for displaced people.
ISLAMABAD, May 7: The government announced on Thursday it had called out the army for a decisive action against militants in Swat and adjoining areas.
In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said nefarious activities of militants had reached a stage where a decisive step against them had become inevitable. “We will not bow down before terrorists and extremists and force them to lay down arms,” he declared.
The prime minister stopped short of scrapping the Swat peace deal, but said sincerity of the government in pursuing reconciliation was misconstrued as weakness. He said there was an understanding that militants would lay down arms after enforcement of the Nizam-i-Adl but it did not happen.
Mr Gilani said the time had come when the nation should unite against the elements which wanted to take Pakistan hostage at gunpoint and were hell-bent on putting the country’s future at stake. “Nobody can be allowed to challenge the writ of the government,” he remarked.
He said the country was facing two big challenges today: national security and economic progress. He said the two were interlinked because economic and industrial progress was not possible without peace and security.
He said the people who cooperated with security forces were victimised and hundreds of thousands were forced to migrate to other areas. He said girls were being stopped from going to schools, public and private properties were occupied and damaged, women subjected to shameless treatment and to add insult to injury, all these steps were taken in the name of Islam. He said the army had been called out to eliminate terrorists and protect the life and property of people in Swat.
He said an amount of Rs1 billion had been allocated for rehabilitation of displaced persons. One member of every family which had lost a breadwinner would be given a job. He appealed to all politicians to support efforts of the government. He urged ulema to highlight the true face of Islam which has no room for suicide attacks and oppression.
The prime minister also urged the international community to help Pakistan in rehabilitating displaced persons and for enhancing the capacity of its security forces to fight terror.
REACTION: The Pakistan Muslim League-N announced support for the military action. A PML-N spokesman, Siddiqul Farooq, said as militants had challenged the writ of the state, it was important to take action against them. He said the PML-N would like the government to immediately call an all-party conference to evolve consensus.
The ANP also supported the announcement. “It seems the man (Sufi Mohammad) we had entrusted with the task of getting the peace deal implemented had become hostage to the will of extremists,” ANP’s senior vice-president Haji Adeel said. He said the NWFP government was taken into confidence before the prime minister announced the action.
Former amir of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, opposed the move, but several religious scholars, including Mufti Muneebur Rehman and Sahibzada Fazal Karim of JUP, welcomed it. (Daily Dawn)
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Abbas Zaidi: Clerks of Punjab, sell your children!
Now that the Punjabi government has decided to deprive them of the low salaries and petty pilfering, they have put up their children on sale because they cannot feed them. The wailing clerks beat their chests and pull their hair as their lovely little kids crying and begging the government to have pity on them and their fathers.
The government is merciless and will not be moved by the wailing or Children of Sale. One clerk, however, said something significant. He said that the economic ruin of the clerks and their families would lead to the Talibanization of the clerks, which means that pushed against the wall some clerks or their children will become suicide bombers. The clerk is right: the only language that the government understands is the language is violent as the victories of the Taliban in northern Pakistan show.
Suicide bombing as we Pakistanis know is an extremely wicked act, which results in nothing but destruction and fitna on a very large scale. Having said that, I believe that the clerks or their children will not become suicide bombers unless religion is brought in. This is why, the government will disdain the clerks, protests, and they, the clerks, will continue to protest and put up their children on sale.
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Thursday, 7 May 2009
Talibans look like Vampires !
Body of a Taliban victim in Herat, Afghanistan.
Talibani Justice: A public execution in Swat.Victims narrate horrific crimes committed by Talibans in Swat:
Talibans look like vampires and I won't return to Swat ---- a Swati shopkeeper.
Can't dig more graves --- Swati man whose son was killed in a suicide attack by Talibans.
My husband was beheaded by the Talibans on espionage charges --- Swati woman who also lost an eye due to a mortar attack on her house.
Talibans look like vampires and I won't return to Swat ---- a Swati shopkeeper.
Can't dig more graves --- Swati man whose son was killed in a suicide attack by Talibans.
My husband was beheaded by the Talibans on espionage charges --- Swati woman who also lost an eye due to a mortar attack on her house.
Fleeing Swatis describe horrific scenes
PESHAWAR: Shop owner Saeed Khan has already buried one child killed in fighting between the Taliban and government forces in northwest Pakistan. He cannot bear to lose another, AFP reports. So the 50-year-old bundled his wife, son and daughter onto a bus in the Taliban-infested town of Mingora in the Swat valley and hurried to the city of Peshawar, hoping for a future free from further bloodshed.‘I lost my son, who was a police officer in Swat, in a suicide attack in Mingora early this year. I buried him in front of my house,’ Khan told AFP, tears rolling down his cheeks.‘I don’t want to dig graves for my daughter and son in Mingora. That is why I left the area... His death broke me. Tell me where should I go and from whom should I seek justice?’
Local officials say more than 40,000 men, women and children have packed up and fled Mingora since Tuesday, fearing that Pakistan’s military could unleash a fresh ground and air assault against Taliban fighters.The bedraggled refugees, some leading goats and cattle through the streets, are seeking safety for their loved ones, as the Taliban claimed to control 90 per cent of the former ski resort and tourist getaway, once favoured by Westerners.‘I am immediately leaving the city with my wife, mother and four kids,’ said taxi driver Ali Rehman, 46.‘I don’t really know my destination and destiny. My family and I need protection.’
At the bus stop in Peshawar — the capital of the North West Frontier Province — exhausted and anxious people told stories of horror as they poured out of vehicles carrying old bags, blankets and bundles of clothes.
Zarina Begum, 40, pleaded for help as she staggered off a bus.‘A mortar hit my house and as a result, I lost one of my eyes. Please take me to hospital, I want medical treatment,’ Zarina begged.‘They (Taliban) killed my husband, they slit his throat after accusing him of spying... I escaped Swat because I don’t want my son to be killed under the same circumstances. I don’t want to receive his decapitated body.’
The government had hoped that a peace deal agree in February would placate hardliners trying to impose a repressive brand of Islam, but instead the deal appears to be in tatters.Clashes have flared in recent days throughout Swat, where wealthy Pakistanis and foreigners used to enjoy the breathtaking mountain scenery from plush hilltop hideaways, or cruise down the ski slopes.Now, gunfire rings out in Mingora, where armed Taliban patrol the streets.
‘I’m really scared of going to Swat. Whenever I see Taliban, they look like vampires,’ said 25-year-old shop keeper Salman Mujtaba, who lost family members in a suicide attack near Mingora.‘I will never ever go back to Swat. It has lost its beauty.’ (Daily Dawn)
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Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Abbas Zaidi: Pakistani media continues to glorify Islamo-fascism
On 17 April the entire electronic media brought Abdul Aziz to every household of Pakistan. He was shown coming from an inner room of the notorious Lal Mosque into the prayer hall where he led the Friday prayer as he used to do till he was arrested on terrorism charges in 2007. He was set free on the evening of 16 April which the media beamed across the country as "Breaking News". After he came out of the jail and settled down into a jeep, he gave a brief interview in which he ominously said, "Pakistan was created in the name of Islam but due to non-implementation of the Islamic sections and law and justice a tension is spreading in religious circles". Before leaving, Abdul Aziz eulogized the Taliban takeover of Swat and the imposition of Nizam-e-Adal (System of Justice) there. He concluded his interview by saying that the Nizam-e-Adal should be imposed in every part of Pakistan.
In the midst of thunderous applause Abdul Aziz peppered his Friday sermon with the following statements:
1. "We will continue our struggle to enforce Islamic order in the country."
2. "God willing, our sacrifices will not go in vain and Islam will be implemented not only in Pakistan but all over the world."
3. "What we have seen in Swat and the Tribal Areas is the result of the sacrifices at the Lal Mosque, of the students, the people who were martyred." (He was referring to the deal struck between the government and the Taliban according to which Swat and the Tribal Areas will be governed in accordance with the brutal Wahhabi version of Islam.
Then Abdul Aziz asked his votary that in order to impose [the mutilative] Shariah in Pakistan: "Will you render sacrifices?" "Will you go to jails?" "Will you render sacrifices for religion?"
Yes, his votary shouted.
Pakistan´s electronic media broadcast the entire gory drama of Islamo-fascism live. Abdul Aziz was presented as the present day David who had emerged victorious and was telling his people that the Islamic utopia was not very far.
There are only two channels in Pakistan which show balance. But both of them are English language channels which means very few watch them given Pakistan´s literacy in English. The rest of them, dozens of them, are Urdu language channels and compete with one another in proving their Islamist credentials. There are countless talk shows on these Urdu channels where India, Israel, and the United States are regularly denounced for having ganged up to destroy Pakistan, the "citadel of Islam". If an invited guest tries to speak the truth, he is cut short and is not invited next time. This has happened on different channels with a scholar like Dr Pervaiz Hoodbhai. As far as I know there is only one journalist who speaks the truth. His name is Nusrat Javed and he is the co-host of Bolta Pakistan on Aaj TV. At times his interlocutors have questioned his Islamic credentials. He has received a number of serious threats. So far he has stood his ground. The rest, as they say, is history: history of shame, complicity, and capitulation to the forces of darkness.
Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/100224
In the midst of thunderous applause Abdul Aziz peppered his Friday sermon with the following statements:
1. "We will continue our struggle to enforce Islamic order in the country."
2. "God willing, our sacrifices will not go in vain and Islam will be implemented not only in Pakistan but all over the world."
3. "What we have seen in Swat and the Tribal Areas is the result of the sacrifices at the Lal Mosque, of the students, the people who were martyred." (He was referring to the deal struck between the government and the Taliban according to which Swat and the Tribal Areas will be governed in accordance with the brutal Wahhabi version of Islam.
Then Abdul Aziz asked his votary that in order to impose [the mutilative] Shariah in Pakistan: "Will you render sacrifices?" "Will you go to jails?" "Will you render sacrifices for religion?"
Yes, his votary shouted.
Pakistan´s electronic media broadcast the entire gory drama of Islamo-fascism live. Abdul Aziz was presented as the present day David who had emerged victorious and was telling his people that the Islamic utopia was not very far.
There are only two channels in Pakistan which show balance. But both of them are English language channels which means very few watch them given Pakistan´s literacy in English. The rest of them, dozens of them, are Urdu language channels and compete with one another in proving their Islamist credentials. There are countless talk shows on these Urdu channels where India, Israel, and the United States are regularly denounced for having ganged up to destroy Pakistan, the "citadel of Islam". If an invited guest tries to speak the truth, he is cut short and is not invited next time. This has happened on different channels with a scholar like Dr Pervaiz Hoodbhai. As far as I know there is only one journalist who speaks the truth. His name is Nusrat Javed and he is the co-host of Bolta Pakistan on Aaj TV. At times his interlocutors have questioned his Islamic credentials. He has received a number of serious threats. So far he has stood his ground. The rest, as they say, is history: history of shame, complicity, and capitulation to the forces of darkness.
Source: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/100224
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Will the silent Sunni Barelvi majority rise against the brutal Wahhabi-Neo Deobandi allinace known as the Taliban?
Clashing interpretations of Islam
Sufi Muhammad of the TNSM and the Swat Taliban led by the TTP have rejected the Darul Qaza judges appointed by the NWFP government in the Malakand-Swat region. Sufi Muhammad’s explanation for rejecting the appointment of “judges” where he would have appointed “qazis” could have been endorsed by a majority of the madrassa clergy in Pakistan but for his other “edicts” that offend the national clergy across the board. One can say that the madrassa clergy has developed a schism in which the Sufi and the Taliban stand isolated.
There has emerged a third variant, that of the “mazar” clerics who reject the theology of the madrassa plus the Taliban brand that the Sufi wants to impose. The most significant statement of the third variant has come from our Foreign Minister Mr Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is also the spiritual custodian of one of the country’s most important “mazar” shrines, that of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan, where he recently addressed the devotees of the mystic saint on his 695th anniversary.
Breaking with the custom of not emphasising the Deobandi-Barelvi schism, Mr Qureshi said on Sunday: “The Sunni Tehreek has decided to activate itself against Talibanisation in the country. A national consensus against terrorism is emerging across the country”. The Sunni Tehreek, of course, is an aggressive version of the Barelvi faith that has emerged in Karachi in the face of Deobandi-Ahle Hadith dominance in the mega-city and is now actively seeking cooperation from Barelvi organisations in the rest of the country to face up to the armed madrassa followers.
Pakistan began as a Barelvi-dominated country with only the NWFP and parts of Balochistan under Deobandi control. After 1947, however, the state inclined in favour of the Deobandi madrassas when faced with the task of Islamisation under the Objectives Resolution. Later, exigencies of jihad, whose fighters had to be trained in a predominantly Deobandi Afghanistan, compelled the state to avoid empowering the Barelvi school of thought. Today, most cities are under the sway of Deobandi thinking while the country’s rural majority is still devoted to the Barelvi saints.
Sufi Muhammad has created a new situation in which a new “national consensus” is forming about the Deobandi view of the national security state. Foreign Minister Qureshi has come to the conclusion that since the Sufi and his Taliban have offended the predominant Deobandi clergy by rejecting democracy it may defuse the latter’s objections to Barelvi practices. Or at least the state may feel more secure in taking action against the isolated militants of Malakand and thus find it easier to oppose the tough version of Islam called Talibanisation in the rest of the country. The reference to Sunni Tehreek by him however hints at an alternative power in civil society that may balance the street power of the Taliban sympathisers.
Sufi Muhammad has cut himself off from the powerful Deobandi consensus because of his charismatic and heroic self-image, very much like Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid in 2007 when he began to reject his Deobandi backers because of what he claimed was their passivity in the face of the challenge to enforce sharia in Islamabad. One often forgets that an important factor that persuaded the government in 2007 to attack Lal Masjid was the disavowal of Maulana Aziz by the confederation of Deobandi madrassas in Multan. Unfortunately, the country, after a spurt of support to this action, went back to calling it a “blunder”.
The situation has changed since 2007, however. The Taliban are not the distant upholders of true Islam in Kabul being pulverised by the Americans after 2001. They are militants who use terror to subjugate communities, kill innocent Muslims through suicide-bombing, and want to replace democracy with a despotic order. A highly disciplined political entity, the MQM has resolved to stand up to them. It may come to regard the Barelvi school of thought as its ideological base because most of its cadres are old followers of the great Barelvi leader, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani of the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Pakistan.
The state has supported jihad and empowered the madrassa. Will it now be neutral and take advantage of the “consensus” referred to by Mr Qureshi and play a fair game vis-à-vis the people of Pakistan? This consensus is useful only in so far as it stands behind the army as it confronts the Taliban. The state must win this war. (Daily Times)
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Sufi Muhammad of the TNSM and the Swat Taliban led by the TTP have rejected the Darul Qaza judges appointed by the NWFP government in the Malakand-Swat region. Sufi Muhammad’s explanation for rejecting the appointment of “judges” where he would have appointed “qazis” could have been endorsed by a majority of the madrassa clergy in Pakistan but for his other “edicts” that offend the national clergy across the board. One can say that the madrassa clergy has developed a schism in which the Sufi and the Taliban stand isolated.
There has emerged a third variant, that of the “mazar” clerics who reject the theology of the madrassa plus the Taliban brand that the Sufi wants to impose. The most significant statement of the third variant has come from our Foreign Minister Mr Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is also the spiritual custodian of one of the country’s most important “mazar” shrines, that of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan, where he recently addressed the devotees of the mystic saint on his 695th anniversary.
Breaking with the custom of not emphasising the Deobandi-Barelvi schism, Mr Qureshi said on Sunday: “The Sunni Tehreek has decided to activate itself against Talibanisation in the country. A national consensus against terrorism is emerging across the country”. The Sunni Tehreek, of course, is an aggressive version of the Barelvi faith that has emerged in Karachi in the face of Deobandi-Ahle Hadith dominance in the mega-city and is now actively seeking cooperation from Barelvi organisations in the rest of the country to face up to the armed madrassa followers.
Pakistan began as a Barelvi-dominated country with only the NWFP and parts of Balochistan under Deobandi control. After 1947, however, the state inclined in favour of the Deobandi madrassas when faced with the task of Islamisation under the Objectives Resolution. Later, exigencies of jihad, whose fighters had to be trained in a predominantly Deobandi Afghanistan, compelled the state to avoid empowering the Barelvi school of thought. Today, most cities are under the sway of Deobandi thinking while the country’s rural majority is still devoted to the Barelvi saints.
Sufi Muhammad has created a new situation in which a new “national consensus” is forming about the Deobandi view of the national security state. Foreign Minister Qureshi has come to the conclusion that since the Sufi and his Taliban have offended the predominant Deobandi clergy by rejecting democracy it may defuse the latter’s objections to Barelvi practices. Or at least the state may feel more secure in taking action against the isolated militants of Malakand and thus find it easier to oppose the tough version of Islam called Talibanisation in the rest of the country. The reference to Sunni Tehreek by him however hints at an alternative power in civil society that may balance the street power of the Taliban sympathisers.
Sufi Muhammad has cut himself off from the powerful Deobandi consensus because of his charismatic and heroic self-image, very much like Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid in 2007 when he began to reject his Deobandi backers because of what he claimed was their passivity in the face of the challenge to enforce sharia in Islamabad. One often forgets that an important factor that persuaded the government in 2007 to attack Lal Masjid was the disavowal of Maulana Aziz by the confederation of Deobandi madrassas in Multan. Unfortunately, the country, after a spurt of support to this action, went back to calling it a “blunder”.
The situation has changed since 2007, however. The Taliban are not the distant upholders of true Islam in Kabul being pulverised by the Americans after 2001. They are militants who use terror to subjugate communities, kill innocent Muslims through suicide-bombing, and want to replace democracy with a despotic order. A highly disciplined political entity, the MQM has resolved to stand up to them. It may come to regard the Barelvi school of thought as its ideological base because most of its cadres are old followers of the great Barelvi leader, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani of the Jamiat-e Ulema-e Pakistan.
The state has supported jihad and empowered the madrassa. Will it now be neutral and take advantage of the “consensus” referred to by Mr Qureshi and play a fair game vis-à-vis the people of Pakistan? This consensus is useful only in so far as it stands behind the army as it confronts the Taliban. The state must win this war. (Daily Times)
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Ahmed Rashid: Civil war if Taliban make further inroads
Taliban supporters march in Swat Valley, Pakistan Photo: AP
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Karachi
If the Taliban encroach any further into Punjab and Karachi, there will be bloody civil war on account of existing ethnic and sectarian fault-lines, journalist and scholar Ahmed Rashid said on Monday.
He was delivering a lecture titled “Pakistan and Afghanistan: quest for peace or recipe for war?” at the Mohatta Palace. Rashid said that the Swat deal was made by the Awami National Party (ANP) government out of “desperation”, and had proved disastrous in terms of “expansion” of the Taliban, abrogating the Constitution, the reluctance of army to go there. It has also compounded the refugee crisis because the number of displaced persons has increased to one million.
There was no “Sharia” in Swat; it was, in fact, “Taliban law”, which was anti-women and anti-education, Rashid maintained. He said the Taliban now had a large pool of suicide bombers whose age was 15 years and they could turn potential extremists into suicide bombers within “four days”. Earlier, he said, it took them at least three months to groom a suicide bomber.
Talking from his personal research in Kohat, Rashid said that now the Taliban provided a package deal, containing Rs20,000 per month, a motorcycle and mobile phone to potential terrorists. He said that despite much talk of Madressah reforms during the Musharraf era, the number of seminaries had increased from 12,000 in 2001 to 18,000 now and many of these new religious schools were being run by Jihadi organisations.
He said in contrast to Afghanistan where the Taliban comprised mainly Pakhtoons, the Pakistan Taliban were emerging as a “multi-ethnic group”, having links in Punjab, Sindh, and other areas.
He said with the aligning of Kashmiri and Punjabi groups, which were anti-India and turned against Gen. (retd) Musharraf in 2006 when he made peace moves towards New Delhi, Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) now comprised 40 militant groups. He said this movement had now developed its own agenda of imposing Shariah. Massive donations from charitable organisations inside the country and from the Gulf countries and drugs were the three major sources of funding for the Taliban.
Rashid termed the failure of the Pakistani state to protect lives of 300 Maliks (tribal heads) in FATA who were slaughtered by Taliban the biggest mistake. As a result, the government not only lost goodwill there but also support of the “tribal structure.” Rashid believed all problems emanated from lack of comprehensive policy of the Bush administration about Afghanistan, which diverted its focus on Iraq. Its main focus was to capture Osama bin Laden and similarly, Pakistan also ignored Taliban for its own reasons. Gen. Musharraf also did not touch Taliban and kept them in reserve in case US left Afghanistan alone and focus its attention on capturing Al-Qaeda leaders only. Elements in the army and the Intelligence agencies also remained in touch with them to preserve “Jihadi nexus” against India. He opined the Obama administration’s “regional strategy” was likely to put pressure on Pakistan, Iran and India and Central Asian States to resolve their disputes and rivalries and focus on the “terrorism” issue. He said as 80pc of US aid during the Musharraf regime went to the army, which was used against India, the Obama administration had now focused on civil programmes with conditionalties that may be difficult for Pakistan to meet. It is because of this reason that President Asif Zardari’s visit to USA would be critical.
He claimed the US government would not back a military coup in Pakistan because of perceived resistance by the “left wing” among the Democrats. Besides it would provide an excuse to the Republicans to say that there was no different between Obama and Bush.
About the Balochistan insurgency, he said it was for the first time that the Baloch elite were expressing their frustration, which, he added, could still have a solution. He said Pakistan needed to redefine its national security as India was focusing on its economy. —IA (The News)
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Taliban take over Mingora
* Army officer, soldier killed in Taliban attacks
* Troops ‘exercising restraint to honour peace agreement’
* Taliban blow up school
MINGORA/RAWALPINDI: The Swat peace agreement crumbled on Monday as Taliban took over Mingora, the district headquarters, taking positions atop government and private buildings and patrolling the deserted streets.
“The city is in complete control of the Taliban, who say they are taking positions to guard the local population,” Mingora residents said. But the Taliban did not elaborate who they were protecting the city against.
Business centres and shops remained closed.
Local residents said both the security forces and the Taliban set up checkposts on roads leading to Mingora and soldiers were seen on high alert in Kabal.
Military authorities had announced curfew in the city from 7pm to 6am and had warned the violators of stern action.
Officer, soldier killed: In Rawalpindi, the Inter-Services Public Relations said the Taliban had killed another soldier and an officer in various incidents of violence.
“The security forces are still exercising restraint to honour the peace agreement,” it said. The army officer was killed when the Taliban attacked a security convoy in Barrikot early on Monday. Two soldiers were injured in the ensuing gunfight.
A soldier was killed when the Taliban raided a checkpost in Shangla. They also demolished a vacant police checkpost in Yakhtangi in Shangla, and burnt three private trucks in Biladram and Chamtalai. Three Taliban were reported killed in a clash with troops in Maidan.
DSP’s house: The Taliban burnt the house of a police deputy superintendent in Kumber, and robbed the house of the Maidan Union Council nazim in Lower Dir. They abducted a number of civilians from Kot Haya Sarai in Maidan. The Taliban also blew up a government high school building in Tandoodhag area. Sources in Shangla said the Taliban had told a jirga they had entered Shangla to stop the security forces from entering Swat and Buner.
Meanwhile, intermediate exams at nine centres in Buner were cancelled, and the Swat DCO told a private TV channel that curfew had been imposed in Swat for an indefinite period. staff report/ daily times monitor
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US options in Pakistan limited
LAHORE/ WASHINGTON: In briefings last week, senior US officials told US President Barack Obama and his National Security Council that neither a Taliban takeover nor a military coup was imminent and that the Pakistani nuclear arsenal was safe, the Washington Post has reported. For the longer term, however, the intelligence was far from reassuring. Security was deteriorating and there were signs that groups sympathetic to the Taliban were working in Punjab. The political leadership was mired in bickering; the army remained ill-equipped and unwilling to fight the insurgency. But Obama has only limited options for dealing with the threat(s). The anti-American feeling is high, and a US combat presence prohibited. The US has to fight Pakistan’s Taliban through an army over which it has little control. The tools at hand are money, weapons, and a mentoring relationship that alternates between advice and criticism. Meanwhile, according to AFP, in his talks with President Asif Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week, President Obama will raise concerns about nuclear proliferation and resurgent extremism. daily times monitor/afp (Daily Times)
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