Images indeed speak for themselves
IT is not just the US camp which despite reality reverses refuses to learn, but even those affected by its duplicity; namely the Islamic world which has been marked red and forever used with a carrot and stick approach with which the Imperial camp never lets up to actuate its nefarious plans, but countries like Pakistan succumb to alien machinations time and again.
The US and its allies instead of gracefully accepting their mistakes and reforming are at it again; this time through a disinformation campaign designed to keep the region destabilized.
In a country which had been rendered dysfunctional and uncertain, even though the Taliban had promised an inclusive Government, it was only appropriate that they did not rush the formation and made sure that they come up with a complexion which would not only ensure ethnic representation but such that would be acceptable across the board.
Being no easy task; it was only logical that an interim set-up of a Government of some sort in the meantime immediately came into force.
But the impatience of the media and political forces inimical to the Taliban rule expecting their stop-gap arrangement to be inclusive giving representation to the female population as committed by the Taliban, would be very naive and unfair, if they knew what an interim set-up implies.
As for the Afghan Taliban, they ought to be aware that even though the Occupation Forces could not transform the centuries old traditional Afghan social fabric by forcing a Constitution down their throat, they nevertheless must have succeeded in their 20-year occupation in making some dent among vulnerable teenagers and the youth like in any society, a reflection of which you see in the small groups being given magnified exposure chanting slogans against the Taliban allegedly denying freedom of choice to the females, and against Pakistan’s alleged involvement and support to the Taliban take-over of Panjshir, blared over the British, American and Indian Media.
Their reflection was also seen in the not so hidden haste of trying to get as many of those indoctrinated souls out of Afghanistan, so that as predicted they could be used and discarded at will.
One also reckons that the Afghan Taliban would be mindful that these could be in thousands across the country who were beginning to enjoy their liberties and freedom which were reflected in the first image of Hamid Karzai flanked by some jeans-clad young Afghan females with their navels showing, heralding the “emancipation of the Afghan woman overnight;” an image imprinted in my memory since way back in 2004.
Bringing them back into the Islamic mold would not be easy and would require patience besides intelligent discourses.
If the US and Europe were genuinely concerned about safety and human rights of the Afghan people, they instead of egging some on to leave the country out of fear, ought to have created an enabling environment in Afghanistan through combined humanitarian aid, not only to bring normalcy in the unjustifiably war-torn country but to facilitate millions of Afghan refugees forced to flee to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey after the Soviet and Allied invasion of their country now that the war was over, to return to their homeland.
On the other hand, it remains to be seen what higher moral ground the Afghan Taliban offer to these waylaid countrymen to bring them back into the fold of Shariah, besides blunting the Western and Indian media propaganda against their rule, which despite a distinct departure from their past stint was still being portrayed as archaic and rigid.
Such is the western media bias against the returning Taliban that the News Anchor of one of the two major Western news outlets was quick to wind up talking to a UNICEF Representative as soon as she stated that the Taliban had asked them to stay and help mitigate people’s suffering on account of draught and malnutrition.
Yalda Hakim, an Afghan-born BBC Reporter is one example of using an indoctrinated native to cast pre-meditated aberrations of the West over the return and resurgence of the Afghan Taliban now at the helm of affairs in Afghanistan.
Another one was from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan; added to such accounts, the US Defence Secretary alleging without verifying that the returning Americans were beaten up by Afghan Taliban who were blocking Afghans from leaving the country, whereas all the Taliban did was try to reassure and persuade them not to leave as they had nothing to worry.
As CNN’s ‘Connect the World’ program anchor Becky Anderson in her interview with Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Mueed Yusuf listened to him disdainfully as he denounced accusations against Pakistan for failing the US as preposterous, and attributed scapegoating Pakistan to the previous corrupt Government in Kabul which did not wish to reflect over its own shortcomings.
And when Becky sheepishly referred to the protestors footage she chose to air saying that images spoke for themselves, I in Taliban’s place, would have allowed the protestors and their coverage teams to carry out their shallow drill and expose themselves, instead of arresting or baton charging them which is what made the news; the Western and Indian media harped on and merrily exploited.
I do not remember Mueed’s response to the news anchor because preoccupied with the lady’s remark, I counted heads; a dozen odd in both protest marches in the Kabul streets holding placards with political slogans, being covered by a handful of assigned cameramen; the images indeed spoke for themselves.
Trying her hand also at Imran Khan the other day as Becky Anderson expressing apprehensions that the Taliban would not protect Human Rights, especially those of women and children, the Pakistani Premier said that instead of expressing premature reservations about the Taliban conduct and placing pre-conditions despite their declared General Amnesty and intent to cater to women’s rights within the confines of Islamic precepts, and still harbouring an illusion that tailoring of the Afghan society which could not be accomplished through a mammoth military campaign and forced occupation for 20 years, could be accomplished from the outside was patently flawed.
The critical moment created by the 40 year intrusion in Afghan Affairs demanded of the world to engage positively with the Taliban and incentivize their new Administration in order to bring the current crises to an end.
—The writer is a media professional, member of Pioneering team of PTV and a veteran ex Director Programmes.
