Appearing from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad & Quetta

Tuesday, November 17, 2009, Zhul-Q'ada 28, 1430

Legacies to be decided

Shaima Sumaya

Pakistan is going through the motions right now. Operation Rah-e-Nijat is underway and the Taliban are launching one offensive after another. The only aspect to the happenings of the entire week that Pakistan can gain confidence from is Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani’s visit to Ladha and Saragodha in South Waziristan where he met field commanders and troops and appreciated their efforts. He not only appreciated the morale of the troops but his appreciation has contributed to raising the morale of the troops committed to operation ‘Rah-e-Nijat’.

General Kiyani was equally encouraging to the common people who have been displaced as a result of the on going operation. He assured the displaced persons in Dera Ismail Khan Camp that the army will not only rehabilitate them but will undertake development projects for the social uplift of the area. It is this role of the military that has always left an endearing mark on the hearts and minds of the Pakistani people. The President, the Prime Minister, the Chief of Army Staff are all insisting upon one thing that Pakistanis show patience and resolve in this very difficult time. The Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani is confident that despite the recent string of attacks from the enemy the army will achieve all its objectives in operation ‘Rah-e-Nijat’.

The reality is that the Pakistani people are as much in the receiving end from the enemy as the security forces. What is being calculated every month are the number of deaths recorded and persons injured in attacks. What nobody really talks about is the psychological torture the entire country is going through. Indeed the patience and the endurance of the Pakistani people is being put to the test. It is very important that the Pakistan Army is successful in operation ‘Rah-e-Nijat’ not only from the point of its internal security but as an ally in the ‘War against Terror’ since the militants in South Waziristan are using the area as a base to attack Western troops across the border in Afghanistan. Pakistan is facing a very determined, diverse and united enemy that is as strong from within as it is from the outside. The element of foreign hand is becoming clearer day by day. The enemy rejects both the civilian government and the security forces of Pakistan. They declare both institutions as Un-Islamic and are retaliating to Pakistani alliance with the United States.Pakistan is finally speaking out against recent statement made by neighbouring India. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani said that the evidence regarding Indian involvement in Balochistan will be presented at “a suitable time”. Earlier in October Interior Minister Rehman Malik held India responsible for the escalating violence in Balochistan. This is both disturbing and predictable information coming from Pakistan against India. Pakistan has always desired good relations with its neighbour and at the same time has been skeptical and questioned its neighbour’s intentions towards itself. India is making the same sort of allegations and counter allegations against Pakistan. India has recently made an accusation that that it has arrested a Pakistani spy from Indhra Gandhi International Airport. This series of allegations and counter allegations from India and Pakistan can be predicted for the foreseeable future. The Pakistani people on the other hand are committed to both their government and military in the fight against terrorism but the plight of the Pakistani people is becoming a joke.

From October till now more than 300 people have lost their lives in terror attacks. The Pakistani people are being killed mercilessly by a determined enemy in a war that they did not choose to take part in. At the same time the Pakistani people are caught in a vicious cycle from power cuts to inflation to flour crisis and now the sugar crisis. Again the question of good governance arises. The present government has proven to be a complete disappointment, so much so that the people are remembering the time of former President Pervez Musharraf very favourably. Some even express a hidden wish that he come back and take charge of the country again. And why shouldn’t they? Former President Pervez Musharraf was a leader of great merit and his performance with the present government deserves comparison as the difference is for everybody to see. This present comparison being made by people will increase with the passage of time. The more the present government proves inefficient, the more favourably the people will look back at former President Pervez Musharraf.

So the coming times will decide the future of former President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistani politics and the chances of his comeback. What is essential is good governance and the lack of it is affecting the country is every area. The Pakistan Army is doing its job and making sure that the nation lives in peace and security. With the recent outcome on the NRO and the events that are predicted to follow, the present government will now has to really fight for its survival.
 

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