Fighting WOT in our own way

Dr Farooq Adil

After toppling the defences of Fazlullah in Swat, the US was keen that Waziristan front should be fully heated up and Baitullah, Maulvi Nazir and Gul Bahadur tackled simultaneously. Pressure was built up from mid May onwards but, the army scuttled it and proceeded its own way to suit its interest. It followed the dictates of military strategy of opening one front at a time and adopting a piecemeal approach so as to employ its precious assets judiciously. Troops in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) began to systematically tighten the ring around Baitullah Mehsud and his followers confined in area between Sarwakai and Makeen, and kept Maulvi Nazir, head of Ahmedzai Wazir tribe in Waziris inhabited area in SWA neutralized through tight control. Provocations by Haji Gul Bahadur led Uthmanzai tribe and by Dawars in North Waziristan were not paid back recklessly, but they too were not allowed to cross limits. Creeping forward strategy adopted by the Army in SWA restricted the movement of Baitullah led militants and immobilized Qari Hussain’s trained suicide bombers. Resultantly, they lost their overall liberty of action. There is pressure on the government as editorials of some newspapers suggest to launch attack on Hakimullah and avail the opportunity of exploiting the TTP’s internal differences. The suggestion is timely and it is advisable for the government and the strategists at the top to keep on completing the homework against the terrorists, do not let them regroup and reassert, eliminate their leadership on priority basis and leave no pockets for them to reassemble. It is hoped that the military is already working on these lines and the people are confident that by the end of this year Pakistan would be free of the menace of terrorism, Insha Allah.—Nowshera

Extrajudicial killings

Syed Danish Fikri

Asma Jahangir has accused the armed forces for extrajudicial killings in Swat. She said, “more than 100 bodies have been found dumped in the streets of towns and villages in Swat since July 13.” I have a few submissions for Ms Asma Jahangir. (a) The military action is needed at a point when all other available options exhaust. (b) The courts enacted after the imposition of Shariah regulation in Swat were not accepted by the Fazlullah-led people. (c) The operation is conducted while declaring emergency in the area wherein mainstream judicial system is not invoked.

The operation was initiated as a last option to which Asma Jahangir has also agreed. She must be well informed and I would like her to recall what had Ibne Amin been doing before he was killed in the operation? The dreaded Taliban terrorist was arrested and later released on the assurance that he would not side with the Taliban nor would launch attacks on the security forces. Wasn’t it a great display of trust, tolerance and patience on part of the army conducting the all-encompassing operation?

Ms Asma gave no answer to Fayaz Zafar when he asked where was the HRCP teams when a female dancer Shabana was slaughtered at the Green Chowk in Mingora? Why didn’t she speak when the Taliban like ‘Fauji’ and ‘Bin Yamin’ and the one who used to call himself as chief of army staff of the Taliban namely ‘Fateh’ were caught by the police, released next day after being produced in the courts, but after their release they let loose reign of terror and killed tens of innocent civilians and attacked security forces personnel. Why, when they were killed in the operation, the people of Swat celebrated their killing, taking a sigh of relief, getting rid of those brokers of death?

Raising the issue of extrajudicial killings seems intriguing that is meant to undermine the security forces great performance, because the people needed a result-oriented decisive operation for which the millions of people had vacated the area for their own good and secure future. — Peshawar
 

Multi-purpose terrorism

Jiya Lajja

The enemy seems to have a multi-pronged strategy. It launches attacks on many fronts. In the ongoing war against terror Pakistan has failed the enemy plots one after another. First, the enemy thought the terrorists would be able to engage the army for a longer period, which would wear it out. Second, they contemplated that the issue of IDPs would blow out of proportion and Pakistan would not be able to handle it. Seeing both the plans failing, they have launched yet another attack, i.e. the allegations of extrajudicial killings and violation of human rights. The attack is lethal and poisonous and is launched through the so called champions of human rights from within Pakistan. The problem is some of us are at war against our own country. They are unable to smell the intrigue.

The HRCP chairperson Asma Jahangir spoke nothing when the terrorists intimidated the lives of the people of Swat and Malakand for the last many years, who challenged the writ of the state, forcibly took young men from every home to be enlisted as terrorists and suicide bombers and launched a reign of terror in the whole country. The terrorists deserve no mercy, if one recalls their demonic training videos depicting beheading law enforcing agencies personnel to create shock and awe in the minds of young recruits, forcing them into submission for conducting even more gruesome acts, vivid images of executing, slaying and flogging are still fresh in the minds of the people.

The terrorists are the enemy of this land. They have let loose reign of terror at enemies’ behest. Despite the fact that the enemy does not deserve to be spared and meted out with a tit for tat response, yet the Pakistan military has never used terror as a response to the terror. The killings on the military side happened due to their extraordinary care against the collateral damage and avoidance against targeting the terrorists using the locals as their human shields. —Peshawar

Real founder of Pakistan?

Shumaila Raja

In his article written on the controversy sparked in India since publication of the country’s former foreign minister Jaswant Singh’s book on Jinnah, Telegraph Media Group’s Delhi-based South Asia editor Den Nelson seems to be convinced that the current Pakistan is not what Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had envisioned.

Commenting on the current state of affairs in Pakistan , he writes, “It wasn’t what Jinnah had in mind, but then a prophet is rarely recognized in his own land”. Mr Nelson observes that Jaswant Singh’s book has sought to restore his reputation in the Hindu-majority state by blaming India ’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the split and praising Jinnah as a secular federalist. “Its publication has divided Singh’s Hindu nationalist BJP and he has been expelled by the party for his ‘heresy.’ But it is Pakistan , rather than India , which needs reminding of what Jinnah stood for.

According to Mr Singh, Nehru was the villain of the piece – by undermining proposals for a more federal India, which set out devolved government for the Muslim majority areas now part of Pakistan and Bangladesh, he paved the road to partition on which more than a million people died. Had Nehru not been so centralist in his outlook, Jinnah would have stayed within a confederal India , and Pakistan might never have drawn breath. The scheme which Jinnah supported as late as 1946 envisaged an India comprised of three groups: One, including the provinces of Pakistan together with a united Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, a united Bengal and Assam as another, and the remainder of Hindu-majority India as the third and largest. Each of the blocks would have powers over all internal matters, with defence and foreign affairs reserved for the centre. Had it been accepted, the Kashmir dispute which remains one of the greatest sources of instability in the world, would not alarm us today.’’ Here we have a lesson to learn. Don’t we? —Rawalpindi

Altaf Bhai’s help needed

Adnan Gill

Once more, the Pakistani president along with his happy-go-lucky entourage paid homage to MQM’s founder Altaf Hussain. The honourable Pakistani ambassador to Washington and his better half (MNA) Farah Naz Ispahani also graced the momentous occasion with their presence. Londoners were honoured to host a galaxy of Pakistani dignitaries like Farhatullah Babar and MQM central coordination committee members like Shipping Minister Babar Ghauri and Saleem Shahzad, Mustafa Azizabadi. The angles of mercy must have smiled on the destitute of Balochistan, because reportedly the issue of Balochistan topped the agenda of Sindh’s two largest political parties. Mr. Zardari must be elated to have convinced the Quaid-e-Tehreek to resolve the issues challenging Balochistan’s stability “on war footing…” Last time Altaf Bhai felt so strong about a national security issue, he called the (then) President Musharraf to congratulate him on the winding up of the Lal-Masjid Operation.

However, wouldn’t it have been much more convenient for everyone if Altaf Bhai would have flown to his constituency in Pakistan to counsel the president on national security issues? After all, even the deeply repentant puppet master/establishment’s Brig Imtiaz (R) has also confessed his sins; in-turn vindicating MQM from every maliciously fabricated accusation leveled against it. There is no reason anymore, why Altaf Bhai should be denied his heart’s desire to become one with his constituents. It’s high time, the next generation of MQM brotherhood is bestowed with the highest honour of the physical presence of Quaid-e-Tehreek Altaf Bhai; or else they may develop their allegiance to a phone and a portrait. —Los Angeles, US

Quetta

Muzaffarabad

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