Monday, November 30, 2009

Is it really India? By Pervez Hoodbhoy

Is it really India? By Pervez Hoodbhoy
Dawn, 28 Nov, 2009

FOREIGN Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says that Pakistan is “compiling hard evidence of India’s involvement” in terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s public and its armed forces.


If he and the interior minister are correct then we must conclude that the Indians are psychotics possessed with a death wish, or are perhaps plain stupid. While India’s assistance for Baloch insurgents could conceivably make strategic sense, helping the jihadists simply does not.

As Pakistan staggers from one bombing to the other, some Indians must be secretly pleased. Indeed, there are occasional verbalisations: is this not sweet revenge for the horrors of Mumbai (allegedly) perpetrated by Lashkar-i-Taiba? Shouldn’t India feel satisfaction as Pakistan reels from the stinging poison of its domestically reared snakes?

But most Indians are probably less than enthusiastic in stoking fires across the border. In fact, the majority would like to forget that Pakistan exists. With a six per cent growth rate, booming hi-tech exports and expectations of a semi-superpower status, they feel that India has no need to engage a struggling Pakistan with its endless litany of problems.

Of course, some would like to hurt Pakistan. Extremists in India ask: shouldn’t one increase the pain of a country — with which India has fought three bloody wars — by aiding its enemies? Perhaps do another Bangladesh on Pakistan someday?

These fringe elements, fortunately, are inconsequential today. Rational self-interest demands that India not aid jihadists. Imagine the consequences if central authority in Pakistan disappears or is sharply weakened. Splintered into a hundred jihadist lashkars, each with its own agenda and tactics, Pakistan’s territory would become India’s eternal nightmare. When Mumbai-II occurs — as it surely would in such circumstances — India’s options in dealing with nuclear Pakistan would be severely limited.

The Indian army would be powerless. As the Americans have discovered at great cost, the mightiest war machines on earth cannot prevent holy warriors from crossing borders. Internal collaborators, recruited from a domestic Muslim population that feels itself alienated from Hindu-India, would connive with jihadists. Subsequently, as Indian forces retaliate against Muslims — innocent and otherwise — the action-reaction cycle would rip the country apart.

So, how can India protect itself from invaders across its western border and grave injury? Just as importantly, how can we in Pakistan assure that the fight against fanatics is not lost?

Let me make an apparently outrageous proposition: in the coming years, India’s best protection is likely to come from its traditional enemy, the Pakistan Army. Therefore, India ought to now help, not fight, against it.

For complete article, click here

Sunday, November 29, 2009

My compatriots' vote to ban minarets is fuelled by fear: Tariq Ramadan

My compatriots' vote to ban minarets is fuelled by fear
The Swiss have voted not against towers, but Muslims. Across Europe, we must stand up to the flame-fanning populists

Tariq Ramadan guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 November 2009

It wasn't meant to go this way. For months we had been told that the efforts to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland were doomed. The last surveys suggested around 34% of the Swiss population would vote for this shocking initiative. Last Friday, in a meeting organised in Lausanne, more than 800 students, professors and citizens were in no doubt that the referendum would see the motion rejected, and instead were focused on how to turn this silly initiative into a more positive future.

Today that confidence was shattered, as 57% of the Swiss population did as the Union Démocratique du Centre (UDC) had urged them to – a worrying sign that this populist party may be closest to the people's fears and expectations. For the first time since 1893 an initiative that singles out one community, with a clear discriminatory essence, has been approved in Switzerland. One can hope that the ban will be rejected at the European level, but that makes the result no less alarming. What is happening in Switzerland, the land of my birth?

There are only four minarets in Switzerland, so why is it that it is there that this initiative has been launched? My country, like many in Europe, is facing a national reaction to the new visibility of European Muslims. The minarets are but a pretext – the UDC wanted first to launch a campaign against the traditional Islamic methods of slaughtering animals but were afraid of testing the sensitivity of Swiss Jews, and instead turned their sights on the minaret as a suitable symbol.

Every European country has its specific symbols or topics through which European Muslims are targeted. In France it is the headscarf or burka; in Germany, mosques; in Britain, violence; cartoons in Denmark; homosexuality in the Netherlands – and so on. It is important to look beyond these symbols and understand what is really happening in Europe in general and in Switzerland in particular: while European countries and citizens are going through a real and deep identity crisis, the new visibility of Muslims is problematic – and it is scary.

At the very moment Europeans find themselves asking, in a globalising, migratory world, "What are our roots?", "Who are we?", "What will our future look like?", they see around them new citizens, new skin colours, new symbols to which they are unaccustomed.

For complete article, click here

Related:
Switzerland and the Minaret - Wall Street Journal
Switzerland: Hatred beneath the harmony - Guardian

The awkward question

The awkward question
The News, November 28, 2009
Samad Khurram

“When I heard Taliban voices, I told myself: this was it,” exclaimed a young officer in white shalwar-qameez as he addressed a rally in support of the Pakistani troops. He adjusted his walking aid to steady himself, “I was ready to die but was not prepared to let my badge be humiliated.”

Captain (then Lieutenant) Omar Tirmizi said that since the injury to his leg made movement impossible, “I took out a grenade from my pocket and put it in my mouth. I decided to take the enemy with me.” The crowd was deeply moved; so was I. Capt Tirmizi, of FF Regiment, was moments away from sacrificing his life when his comrades rescued him.

Given the severity of his injuries, doctors had advised Capt Tirmizi complete bed rest. But, he came to the rally. despite the pain. “Please know that we have given our everything for this war and it hurts us dearly if the people we die for accuse us of not being serious about the war or playing double games.” The very next day, another critical newspaper column claimed that the operation was a whitewash and the army was deliberately ignoring the Taliban.

Why are people still unsure about the seriousness of our forces after a thousand soldiers have laid down their lives for this cause? The answer lies in the miscalculated position of the army, particularly its mantra of “Good Taliban.” The crux of the “Good Taliban” argument is that the Taliban fighting against Pakistani forces are evil, while those who fight elsewhere are “good.” There are many reports indicating that the sympathy has evolved into some degree of cooperation between disgruntled elements in Pakistan and the Afghani Taliban. Leaders like Imran Khan and Fazlur Rehman and self-proclaimed analysts like Zaid Hamid elevate the Afghan Taliban to the status of heroes.

Both Pakistani and Afghan Taliban have to depend on each other. Gretchen Peters, author of Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al Qaeda, points out that a significant portion of Taliban revenue comes from the drug trade. The Taliban do not grow poppy, but instead get money for providing security to drug shipments. When some of these shipments cross Afghanistan and enter Pakistan, it is the Pakistani Taliban who transport them down to the coast.

Peters writes that the other half of the deal is getting money to the drug lords. Some of this money follows the drug trade route backwards. Pakistani Taliban smuggle money to their counterparts in Afghanistan. This trade works on trust ties that have been nourished with time and the Pakistani Taliban earn hundreds of millions of dollars each year for their services. As long as the Afghan Taliban remain and benefit from the drug trade, they will hire business partners in Pakistan.

There are many other influences of the Afghan Taliban which have spilled over to Pakistan. The death formulas of hit-and-run assaults, suicide bombings and forceful imposition of a myopic mindset are gifts from the Afghan Taliban. Fazlullah was so inspired by Mullah Omar that he mimicked Omar’s strategy for conquest. Afghan Taliban first weakened the Afghan state by repeatedly attacking the Afghan army and police and creeping into more territory. They would destroy the morale of the army and people by spreading terror through attacks and by beheading and displaying mutilated corpses of their enemies until the Taliban swept through Kabul with ease in1996.

Twelve years later, Swat fell victim to the same formula. Fazlullah would hang spies and Pakistani soldiers at the “Khooni Chawk” in Swat, another page from the book of Mullah Omar who hanged enemies like Najibullah in Kabul.

There is also reasonable evidence that the Afghan Taliban support the TTP’s activities (“TTP gets Afghan Taliban support,” The News, Oct 18). Escaped Pakistani Taliban are given safe havens in Afghanistan. Fazlullah enjoys protection from the Afghan Taliban, from where he phoned Associated Press a few days back to inform them that he was still alive. Azam Tariq, the current spokesperson of the TTP, released a propaganda video last week. The video proudly displayed the logo of Al-Sahab, the media publicity wing of Al-Qaeda. Al-Sahab had earlier released videos of many Afghan Taliban. Of course, the Afghan Taliban realise they need the sympathy of certain pockets in Pakistan for survival and will try to deny any connection with the bombings in Pakistan.

With this backdrop the only comprehensive strategy of eliminating Pakistani Taliban is the total eradication of the Taliban through a joint Pakistani-Afghan-US effort. This would require cutting off all backchannels with the Afghan Taliban, strict surveillance of the former handlers of the Taliban and a crackdown on smuggling through the Pakistani-Afghan border—in addition to military and political offensives.

While the current operation against the militants suggests that the army is really serious about eliminating the Pakistani Taliban, it does not shed much light on its attitude towards the Afghan Taliban. Until we get clear evidence of the army going against the Afghan Taliban as well, we must continue to ask the awkward question. Is our army really serious about eliminating the Taliban?

I know I will get my answer when I hear Zaid Hamid oppose the Afghan Taliban.

The writer is a Pakistani student at Harvard University. Email: skhurram@fas. harvard.edu

Links between the Taliban and al Qaeda have grown stronger

Links between the Taliban and al Qaeda have grown stronger
Kaustav Chakrabarti, Opendemocracy.net; 24 November 2009
 
Rahimullah Yousufzai, the well-known Peshawar editor of The News International, has been covering Afghanistan and Pakistan for the past thirty years. Rare interviews with Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar to his credit, he offers a deep insight into the evolution of the Taliban. Kaustav Chakrabarti spoke with him recently on the Taliban, terrorism and the future of India-Pakistan relations.
 
The current state of the Taliban

Kaustav Chakrabarti: Mr. Rahimullah Yousufzai, you have been following different armed movements in the region, particularly the Taliban, for several decades now. What do you think about the Taliban?

Rahimullah Yousufzai: The Taliban are an inward looking group. They are indigenous and they have been consistently saying and proving that they are only concerned about Afghanistan. But circumstances have placed them in such a position that they can't help it. Before they came to power in Afghanistan, Osama Bin Laden was already in Afghanistan. Bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan in 1996. Earlier, he was there till 1991 after the Soviet forces pulled out. After that he went first to Saudi Arabia and then to Sudan. So he arrived in Afghanistan before the Taliban captured Kabul. He was living in Jalalabad under the protection of the Mujahideen government headed by Prof Badruddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Massoud.

Osama Bin Laden was given refuge by the Jalalabad shaura (council) of the Mujahideen headed by Haji Qadir. The Taliban inherited these Arabs and Osama Bin Laden. I am witness to the fact that they were initially suspicious of each other. Osama thought that the Taliban was a US-Pakistan creation and that he could not work with them. The Taliban thought that since Osama was working with the Mujahideen earlier he must still be friendly to them.

They had a few meetings, and they resolved their differences; he was allowed to stay on in Jalalabad. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan militants and other Central Asian groups were also allowed to stay. They were already there before the Taliban came to power. But their presence in Afghanistan increased after the Taliban came to power because Taliban gave refuge to everyone who wanted to come; Arabs, Central Asians, Chinese Muslims, and Indonesians.

The Taliban's links with al Qaeda, however, have grown over the years, since they have been fighting together for long. They have fought a common enemy in a common trench, given blood to each other; so now the bonds are much stronger. The Taliban would still like to confine themselves to Afghanistan. Maybe they would not be very happy to give refuge to people like Osama. But now that the bonds have been strengthened, I do not know if they can push them out.

KC: Mullah Omar regarded Bamiyan Buddha as an Afghan heritage and wanted to protect it. Then why did he allow it to be destroyed? Was there a change in his outlook?

RY: Regarding the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha, the radical elements within the Taliban movement had their way. Mullah Omar, in spite of being the leader, did not have the power to stop this. What they did was something very unwise; it was a heritage, why destroy them. One incident provoked them. A famine had exasperated the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. People had been displaced because of the fighting. The Taliban had appealed to the world for help including the UN. No one was forthcoming as the Taliban was like a pariah. And this got them angry. They thought that while the world was concerned about the statues, no one was concerned about the Afghans. That there was more concern for the dead than for those who were still alive and could have survived if they were given help.

For complete interview, click here

Thursday, November 26, 2009

One Year after Mumbai - Lessons and Challenges for Pakistan: Op-ed in The Hindu

Lessons and challenges for Pakistan
Hassan Abbas, The Hindu, November 25, 2009

The tragic Mumbai attacks in November 2008 unfortunately derailed the India-Pakistan peace process in its wake. It should have brought both countries closer instead. The humanistic traditions and values of the Indian sub-continent and Indus Valley civilisation demanded so. On the contrary, masterminds of the terror attacks are succeeding so far because disruption of South Asian peace process was one of their prime targets. India legitimately expected that Pakistan would do its best to pursue and prosecute those involved in the heinous crime but in its hour of pain and grief it forgot that Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism and is passing through turbulent times.

Pakistan has faced enormous challenges in 2009. It has been confronted with the growing menace of terrorism — ranging from militancy in the Swat valley to insurgency in parts of the Pashtun-dominated Federally Administered Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan. Dozens of suicide bombers have targeted urban centres of Pakistan, killing civilians and security forces alike. Police and law enforcement have lost hundreds of their personnel in this battle this year alone. The fact that even Pakistan army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) offices in Lahore and Peshawar were also attacked indicate that terrorists consider them their arch enemy. Somehow, the significance of these developments has not been fully recognised in India.

Pakistani public opinion about the identity of militants and terrorists has transformed in to a great degree. The earlier denial and misperception that ‘outsiders are doing all this’ has given way to acceptance of the fact that country’s internal dynamics are largely responsible for the rise of violence. There is also an understanding that religious extremism has played a gruesome role in all of this. People increasingly acknowledge that domestic and foreign policy mistakes of 1980s and 1990s are coming back to haunt the country.

Many Pakistanis, however, also believe that India leaves no stone unturned in making things more difficult for Pakistan whenever it can. Alleged Indian interference in Baluchistan for instance is often referred to in this regard. The matter was even mentioned in the joint statement issued after the Prime Ministers of the two countries met at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in August 2009. More recently, Pakistani security forces operating in South Waziristan have also hinted that they have found some evidence of Indian support to militants in FATA. Whether true or false, the real issue is the widespread Pakistani belief that India is involved in destabilising Pakistan.

For complete article, click here

Also See:
This Maximum City Belongs To All Of Us - Mosharraf Zaidi, The Times of India

Quaid-i-Azam Chair at Columbia University

Hassan Abbas gets Columbia University QA Chair

The News, November 22, 2009
News Desk

NEW YORK: Prof Hassan Abbas, a prominent Pakistani writer and scholar, has been named as the Quaid-i-Azam Chair by New York’s prestigious Columbia University. He will hold this professorship jointly at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and South Asia Institute at the School of Arts and Science, both at Columbia University.

For conmplete news item, click here
For more information about history of the chair, click here (pdf file)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pakistan: Where's the counter-terror strategy?

Where's the counter-terror strategy?
The News, November 24, 2009
Mushahid Hussain

The writer is a senator and senior political analyst.

An interesting dynamic seems to be developing in today's Pakistan. There is an inverse relationship between the success of Pakistan's counter-insurgency and the failure of the country's counter-terrorism. Clearly, since the beginning of the military offensive in April, the militants are on the run but, concurrently, they have run amok by striking Pakistan's urban population at a time and target of their own choosing.

The government is reduced to expressing impotent rage, with the usual condemnation, compensation and commissioning an inquiry whose findings have never seen the light of day. There is now little doubt that Pakistan has no effective or workable counter-terror strategy. If we had one, it probably lies buried, tucked away in the locked files of officialdom.

Pakistan today is witnessing the worst type of terrorism in its history. Never before have people borne the brunt of such a vicious cycle of violence directed at innocent civilians. Terrorism needs to be treated as the county's foremost national security problem, not just as a local police issue of law and order. It is the single biggest source of destabilisation of the state.

Three kinds of failures are evident. First, barring a couple of instances, there is a marked inability of Intelligence to anticipate possible acts of terrorism. Second, investigation of terror acts is generally carried out in a haphazard, non-professional and casual manner. Third, there is a visible absence of coordination within the government.

For complete article, click here

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan
By Jeremy Scahill; The Nation, November 23, 2009

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help run a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence.


The White House did not return calls or email messages seeking comment for this story. Capt. John Kirby, the spokesperson for Adm. Michael Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Nation, "We do not discuss current operations one way or the other, regardless of their nature." A defense official, on background, specifically denied that Blackwater performs work on drone strikes or intelligence for JSOC in Pakistan. "We don't have any contracts to do that work for us. We don't contract that kind of work out, period," the official said. "There has not been, and is not now, contracts between JSOC and that organization for these types of services." The previously unreported program, the military intelligence source said, is distinct from the CIA assassination program that the agency's director, Leon Panetta, announced he had canceled in June 2009. "This is a parallel operation to the CIA," said the source. "They are two separate beasts." The program puts Blackwater at the epicenter of a US military operation within the borders of a nation against which the United States has not declared war--knowledge that could further strain the already tense relations between the United States and Pakistan. In 2006, the United States and Pakistan struck a deal that authorized JSOC to enter Pakistan to hunt Osama bin Laden with the understanding that Pakistan would deny it had given permission. Officially, the United States is not supposed to have any active military operations in the country. Blackwater, which recently changed its name to Xe Services and US Training Center, denies the company is operating in Pakistan. "Xe Services has only one employee in Pakistan performing construction oversight for the U.S. Government," Blackwater spokesperson Mark Corallo said in a statement to The Nation, adding that the company has "no other operations of any kind in Pakistan."

A former senior executive at Blackwater confirmed the military intelligence source's claim that the company is working in Pakistan for the CIA and JSOC, the premier counterterrorism and covert operations force within the military. He said that Blackwater is also working for the Pakistani government on a subcontract with an Islamabad-based security firm that puts US Blackwater operatives on the ground with Pakistani forces in counter-terrorism operations, including house raids and border interdictions, in the North-West Frontier Province and elsewhere in Pakistan. This arrangement, the former executive said, allows the Pakistani government to utilize former US Special Operations forces who now work for Blackwater while denying an official US military presence in the country. He also confirmed that Blackwater has a facility in Karachi and has personnel deployed elsewhere in Pakistan. The former executive spoke on condition of anonymity.

For complete article, click here

Sunday, November 22, 2009

500 Most Influential Muslims

500 Most Influential Muslims
Chief Editors: Prof John Esposito and Prof Ibrahim Kalin
The royal islamic strategic studies centre, 2009
The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
 
Introduction
The publication you have in your hands is the first of what we hope will be an annual series that provides a window into the movers and shakers of the Muslim world. We have strived to highlight people who are influential as Muslims, that is, people whose influence is derived from their practice of Islam or from the fact
that they are Muslim. We think that this gives valuable insight into the different ways that Muslims impact the world, and also shows the diversity of how people are living as Muslims today.

Influence is a tricky concept. Its meaning derives from the Latin word influens meaning to flow-in, pointing to an old astrological idea that unseen forces (like the moon) affect humanity. The figures on this list have the ability to affect humanity too. In a variety of different ways each person on this list has influence over the
lives of a large number of people on the earth. The 50 most influential figures are profiled. Their influence comes from a variety of sources; however they are unified by the fact that they each affect huge swathes of humanity.

We have then broken up the 500 leaders into 15 categories—Scholarly, Political, Administrative, Lineage, Preachers, Women, Youth, Philanthropy, Development, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture, Media, Radicals, International Islamic Networks, and Issues of the Day—to help you understand the different kinds of ways Islam and Muslims impact the world today.

Two composite lists show how influence works in different ways: International Islamic Networks shows people who are at the head of important transnational networks of Muslims, and Issues of the Day highlights individuals whose importance is due to current issues affecting humanity.

Disclaimer and invitation to participate
Being the first attempt of its kind at a list that shows the broad extent of Muslims' influence on the world we acknowledge that there are likely to be gaps in our categorizing, and are sure that we have missed some influential people. We would like to keep the process as open as possible and ask you to please write in
suggestions to 500@rissc.jo
 
To read the complete document, click here

Our faff-Pak policy: Indian Express

Our faff-Pak policy
Shekhar Gupta, Indian Express, November 14, 2009.
My alma mater of 12 wonderful years in journalism, India Today, just came out with a provocative idea on its cover: Can Pakistan Be Saved? I, however, dare to suggest that in India we need to ask that question a little differently: Should Pakistan Be Saved? Then you can proceed with follow-on questions and corollaries: is it good or bad for us if Pakistan is saved/ not saved? And if we conclude that it is good for us, in fact of vital interest to us, that Pakistan is not only “saved” but emerges a stronger, stabler, moderate, modernising and democratic nation through its current crisis, then we need to think what we can do to help that process.

For too long now both India and Pakistan have had their judgment clouded by contemptuous distrust of each other. The Pakistanis refer to us as their enemies rather more freely. We are a bit more cautious, hypocritical, and non-Punjabi about the use of such direct language. But let’s be honest. Can we deny the fact that every new terror attack on the Pakistani establishment, every development that marks a further decline in the authority of its government is greeted with an utterly unconcealed sense of delight? This is not just the mood of the mobs here. Even the “intelligentsia”, the TV talking heads, opinion page columnists, government spokespersons, all have the same smug air of “I-told-you-so” and “so-what-else-did-they-expect” satisfaction. And they ask the same patronising question: hell, can Pakistan be saved?

One has to be brave, even foolhardy, to go against a flood of such national unanimity. But you have to now debate if it will be good for India that Pakistan continues to slide. Or, do we have the wherewithal to deal with whatever is left behind, if Pakistan does not survive? Can we deal with five anarchic, angry “stans” instead of one next door to us, with no central authority to share a hotline with? Would we prefer to live with a nuclear-armed anarchy that listens to nobody? What use will coercive diplomacy be then? Who will we bomb?

It is time therefore to stop jubilating at the unfolding tragedy in Pakistan. India has to think of becoming a part of the solution. And that solution lies in not merely saving Pakistan — Pakistan will survive. It has evolved a strong nationalism that does bind its people even if that does not reflect in its current internal dissensions. It is slowly building a democratic system, howsoever imperfect. But it has a very robust media and a functional higher judiciary. Also, in its army, it has at least one national institution that provides stability and continuity. The question for us is, what kind of Pakistan do we want to see emerging from this bloodshed? What if fundamentalists of some kind, either religious or military or a combination of both, were to take control of Islamabad? The Americans will always have the option of cutting their losses and leaving. They have a long history of doing that successfully, from Vietnam to Iraq and maybe Afghanistan next. What will be our Plan-B then?

Smugness breeds intellectual laziness. Maybe that is why we feel so comforted with the idea of outsourcing the responsibility of stabilising and moderating the Pakistani state and society to the Americans. We talk of their Af-Pak strategy as if it is some funny superpower game being played some place far, far away. We laugh at their failures just as we smile the cynical “didn’t-I-know-it-was-coming” smile each time Islamabad receives a knock from its own terrorists. This is delusional. As the Americans would say, the sooner we get off this kerb, the better.

For complete article, click here

Report warns of Pakistan's younger generation losing faith in democracy

Report warns of Pakistan's younger generation losing faith in democracy
• Swelling population 'risks demographic disaster'
• Cynicism and disaffection among disturbing findings
Declan Walsh in Islamabad guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 November 2009
 
faces a "demographic disaster" if its leaders fail to invest in a youth population that is disturbingly cynical about democracy, has greatest faith in the military and is resentful of western interference, according to a study published tomorrow.


The report, commissioned by the British Council, says the nuclear-armed country is at a critical point, with its population forecast to swell by 85 million, from its current 180 million, over the next two decades.

"Pakistan is at a crossroads," said David Steven, an academic who helped write the report. "It can harness the energy of that generation, and collect a demographic dividend. But if they fail to get jobs and are poorly educated, it faces a demographic disaster."

Pakistan has never had such a high proportion of young adults: half of its population are aged under 20, with two-thirds still to reach their 30th birthday. But they are deeply divided about how the country should be run.

Only a third believe democracy is the best system of governance, one third support sharia law, while 7% think dictatorship is a good idea. Fasi Zaka, a radio DJ and commentator who helped launch the report, called it a snapshot of a "lost generation".

"They don't believe in anything firmly. Maybe they want sharia law, maybe they want democracy. It's all over the place. But despite this there's a lot of patriotism. So it's not a lost cause." Summing up the contradictions, he said young Pakistanis "don't like this country, but they love it".

The report makes sobering reading for the country's civilian leaders. Of the 1,200 young people surveyed for the report's opinion poll, 60% said they had faith in the military as an institution while only one in 10 voted for President Asif Ali Zardari's beleaguered government.

For complete article, click here

Friday, November 20, 2009

No more homecomings - Pashtuns in America

No more homecomings
By Luv Puri exclusively for Dawn.com

11 Nov, 2009

NEW YORK: On a Saturday morning, 38-year-old Khalid Khattak is packing his luggage to move to Virginia in a last-ditch attempt to land a job appropriate to his skill set. A few months ago, Khattak was working as a recruiter in the human resource department of a large company and earning a decent salary. His wages covered personal expenses, including the rent for his two-bedroom, New York City apartment. After setting aside some savings, Khattak sent whatever was left over to his family living in Pakistan. Recently, however, Khattak’s company was hit by the economic recession and he was fired as part of a cost-cutting drive.


In his current predicament, Khattak resembles millions of immigrants – including American Pakistanis – who have lost their job. But unlike other immigrants who are choosing to return home to take advantage of a low cost of living while the recession rages on, Khattak finds that he is lacking in options. Originally from Peshawar, a city now ravaged by terrorist attacks, Khattak believes he would not be safe if he chose to return to his hometown.

In recent months, a number of Pakistani nationals who returned to Pakistan after working in America have faced threats and even been subjected to physical torture at the hands of the Taliban, who claim that people returning from the US are informers.

Last year, a Bronx resident, Bakht Bilind Khan, was kidnapped by Taliban militants while vacationing in Swat. Khan was held in captivity for two weeks, during which time he was interrogated about his work and life in America. He was eventually released after paying a US$ 8,000 ransom.

Khan’s kidnapping is not an anomaly. The Taliban have instructed residents of the Frontier province to stay away from people coming from America, even if those returning are native to the area and continue to have family residing there. ‘My friends were scared to be seen with me in public because of the Taliban’s diktat,’ explains Khattak. ‘That’s when I realised that the place where I was born is no longer safe for me.’

Khattak arrived in the US with his father in the 1990s, but quickly realised that it was easier to maintain his extended family – including his mother, younger siblings, wife, and children – in Pakistan. ‘I need US$ 600 per month to sustain my family in Pakistan, whereas in the US, I need US$ 2,500 just to meet my personal monthly expenses,’ he points out. When Khattak’s father passed away last year, making him the sole breadwinner for the family, he was glad that living in Pakistan remained an option for himself and his family.

In that context, realising that he could not return to Peshawar was a blow for Khattak, whose main investments have always been in Pakistan. ‘I sent a considerable part of my savings to Pakistan which were invested in immovable assets, including a large house. I believed that in the times of adversity [in the US] I would be able to depend on these assets. But this option is of little practical utility now,’ says Khattak.

While Khattak is forced to remain in the US for fear of the Taliban, Pashtuns in Pakistan are increasingly opting to migrate to America to ensure their safety. For example, 41-year-old Sahib Gul, a Pashtun music composer, arrived in New York last year to escape persecution.

‘I received a letter from a militant outfit that my hands will be cut off if I perform in public places,’ says Gul, an adherent to Sufism. Soon after receiving the letter, Gul, aided by some friends, managed to migrate to New York, taking only his musical instruments with him. He is now looking for employment: ‘I want a job which is sufficient for my survival so that I can pursue my passion for composing music.’

Meanwhile, the Pakistani authorities are at a loss for how to instill a sense of security in people like Gul and Khattak who are facing the wrath of extremists. ‘The majority of the people of North-West Frontier Province believe in moderation and secularism,’ says Senator Haji Adeel of the Awami National Party. He adds that the Taliban are trying to create a sense of insecurity among the people by attacking the liberal and secular spirit of the Pashtun community.

To better understand the predicament of Pakistan’s Pashtun population, one can turn to the songs of Haroon Bacha, a legendary Pashtun singer who left Pakistan last year after receiving threats from extremists. ‘My land is so beautiful and blessed. I wonder then why it has such bad luck,’ are the lyrics of one of his songs, which Bacha recently performed before a small gathering of Pashtuns in New York. His words were powerful enough to bring to tears to the eyes of many among the audience.

Luv Puri is a Fulbright fellow at New York University. He previously reported for The Hindu in Jammu and Kashmir.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Female squash player from Waziristan defies the odds: Dawn

Female squash player from Waziristan defies the odds By Taimur Sikander
Dawn, 19 Nov, 2009
 
KARACHI: Top Pakistani squash players Aamir Atlas Khan and Maria Toor have been nominated for Professional Squash Association Young Player of the Year and Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Young Player of the Year, respectively, by the World Squash Federation.


Both Aamir and Maria belong to the North West Frontier Province, home also to Pakistan squash legends Jahangir and Jansher Khan, where they train amidst constant threats from the Taliban. While it has been a comparatively easy ride for Aamir, by virtue of being a male in a part of the country where residents adhere to strict Islamic law, for the 19-year-old Maria it has been a journey of immense courage and perseverance.

Growing up in South Waziristan, Maria was a very different girl, often getting into brawls with boys and generally being very dominating, some very unusual traits for women in NWFP. She was equally lucky to have an open-minded father who noticed his daughter's sporting talent and ability and did not want it to go to waste.

'I didn't want her talent to go to waste,' Shams-ul-Qayum Wazir said in an interview to CNN. 'If I would've kept her in the village, all she could do was housekeeping,' he added satisfied with his decision to pack up from South Waziristan and move to Peshawar in late 1999.

For complete article, click here

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Text of Nawaz Sharif’s interview with Geo News - What is Nawaz Up to?

Text of Nawaz Sharif’s interview with Geo News
Part I
The News, November 19, 2009

RAWALPINDI: Following is the transcript of exclusive interview of Nawaz Sharif with Geo News:

Hamid Mir (HM): In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful. Hamid Mir and Sohail Warraich are with you today. We are going to talk to a personality round whom the politics of Pakistan revolves nowadays. He is not a part of the government but people have started asserting that the government of Asif Zardari is surviving only because of him. I think you must have got the hint. I am talking about Mian Nawaz Sharif. Many questions are being raised and much is being written about him nowadays. We intend to talk precisely about the questions being discussed in political and cultural quarters. We will endeavour to ask him whether he has become lenient towards the incumbent government because of Saudi Arabia or because of United States; whether instead of an individual he is trying to save the system. We will try to find the reality as well as the agenda of his politics.

Well Mr Nawaz Sharif we are thankful to you for this meeting. My first question is about your person and not about your politics. Your Raiwind farmhouse where we are sitting at the moment is indeed very beautiful. May Allah bless you with more means to build more such farmhouses. However many of your critics say that Nawaz Sharif has so much wealth, he possesses such a huge farmhouse, he has big properties abroad too, but it is surprising that the income tax he pays is only Rs5,000. How would you comment?

NS (Nawaz Sharif): Thank you Mir Sahib. It seems that you have also been carried away by the wave (of criticism). This farmhouse was built prior to our exile and it remained in possession of Mr Musharraf for a long time. Moreover our house in Model Town was taken over by him and handed it over to the government. Similar treatment was meted out to our factories. There may be some families that might have plundered the country and the nation, but I can say with certitude that our family was not involved in politics. We were engaged in setting up industry. Ours is the family that has been looted by different governments. My father set up first factory in 1937 which by the grace of Allah continued to grow and came to be a big industry. It was nationalized by Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto when he came into power and not even a single penny was paid by way of compensation. The entire family was penniless. Those were the days when the war of 1971 in East Pakistan had just ended. You, and perhaps even most of the viewers will be unaware of the fact that one of our factories was located in (former) East Pakistan. That too was gone and we did not get even a single penny of that factory. When our industry in Pakistan was nationalized we were absolutely penniless. Then we come to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto era. Since we were in opposite political camps obviously she left no stone unturned to harm us. We suffered a loss of Rs700 million in the MV Jonathan episode. Then we come to the martial law of Mr Musharraf. He sealed all that remained of our factories. He simply closed down everything, sent us behind the bars and exiled us. There is no need to go into details, as you know everything. A bogus case of plane hijacking was instituted against me. Musharraf got all my movable and immovable properties confiscated by way of fine. This beats my imagination Mir Sahib and I fail to see any logic behind the act of filing bogus cases against an elected prime minister and confiscate all his property in Pakistan. You see and tell how much we have paid in taxes? We have paid billions of rupees as income tax, excise duty and sales tax.

HM: So you did not pay (only) five thousand rupees.

NS: That is what I am trying to establish. You give ear to whatever they (critics) say whereas the reality is different. TV says one thing and the newspapers another. Please do not think of me as an individual; I am linked with all things. The assets I am talking about, by the grace of Almighty Allah, are family assets. In 1997, after mulling over the subject, I had decided that whosoever wants to join politics must resign from their business interests. We resigned, and only an appropriate portion was left as our share. This was done because personally I was convinced that politics and business must be separated. Now let us come to the sugar mill. It is jointly owned by me with Shahbaz Sharif. When we were in exile we paid to the government a sum of Rs6 billion as income tax, excise duty, and sales tax. If we had not paid the taxes, I or Shahbaz Sahib would have pocketed the same or someone else would have got it. It would not have gone in the government coffers. Thus our tax is what has been paid by our family or company, and Rs6 billion is a pretty huge amount, that is six hundred crore rupees. We paid taxes even when we were in Jeddah in exile. So these are the facts. Now I ask a question. Who will compensate us? No one has talked about our factory worth billions that was nationalized. Nobody ever said, ‘alright we grabbed your factory worth billions of rupees; you accept only one tenth of its worth. I talked about the loss of 60-70 crore we suffered in the MV Jonathan episode, and no one has ever talked about this loss. We could have asked for compensation for this loss of Rs70 crore from my own government when I was prime minister. This would have provided grist to the rumours mill and there would have been comments that we have taken such a huge amount out of the national exchequer. Then someone has to be responsible for grabbing our hard earned money too.

For complete article, click here

Related:
Zardari not my rival: Sharif - Thaindian News
Official Website of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)
Struggle for supremacy in Pakistan hurting US interests - Dawn

China, US support improvement, and growth of Indo-Pak ties

China, US support improvement, and growth of Indo-Pak ties

* Joint statement also backs Pak-Afghan efforts to fight terrorism
Daily Times, November 18, 2009

BEIJING: China and the US support the efforts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight terrorism and Islamabad’s efforts to improve ties with New Delhi, a US-China joint statement said on Tuesday.

“The two sides welcomed all efforts conducive to peace, stability and development in South Asia. They support the efforts of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight terrorism, maintain domestic stability and achieve sustainable economic and social development, and support the improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan,” said the joint statement.

“The two sides are ready to strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation on issues related to South Asia and work together to promote peace, stability and development in that region,” it added.

Briefing reporters after talks between Chinese leaders and US President Barack Obama, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei said the two leaders discussed the situation in Afghanistan and regional and global challenges.

He said both sides agreed to enhance cooperation to address global challenges. Yafei said Washington stated that Afghan stability was the key to the security of the US.

He said both countries shared similar views on the fight against terrorism and agreed to step up cooperation in South Asia, including Afghanistan.

“There is nothing more I wish to say on specific cooperation between the two countries, the minister said, adding that, “But I think more cooperation on regional issues and more cooperation to fight terrorism serve the interest and benefit both countries.”

Earlier, US President Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jinato addressed the media at the Great Hall of the People.

President Obama is paying a state visit to China from November 15-18 at the invitation of President Jintao.

The two presidents held in-depth, productive and candid discussions on the US-China relations and other issues of mutual interest.

Earlier on Monday, Obama pushed for an unshackled Internet and expanded political freedoms, seeking to get around China’s media curbs with a webcast town hall event in booming Shanghai. app

Related:
US requests China to help develop Indo-Pak ties - Dawn
China 'peace maker' role has India upset - Times Now
Surprise over U.S.-China joint statement - Hindu

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Why not a civilian head of ISI?: Dawn

Why not a civilian head of ISI?
By Kamran Shafi , Dawn, 17 Nov, 2009
 
IN view of the fact that the cardinal sin of the federal government to try and put the ISI under civilian control is cited as a reason behind all the obituaries presently being written about the imminent fall of a) just the president; b) all the major politicians; and c) the whole shoot, I’ve been trolling through the Internet to see how just many of the world’s top intelligence services are headed by serving military (in Pakistan’s case, read ‘army’) officers.

And how many are appointed by the army chief. Consider what I’ve come up with.

Except for two retired army officers in the early days, one a lieutenant colonel the other a major general, all the DGs of MI5, the “United Kingdom’s internal counter-intelligence and security agency were civil servants. The director-general reports to the home secretary, although the Security Service is not formally part of the home office”, and through him to the prime minister.

“The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom’s external intelligence agency. Under the direction of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), it works alongside the Security Service (MI5), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the defence intelligence staff (DIS).” Except for one naval captain, an admiral, a lieutenant colonel and a major general in the very early days, all of them retired, every single chief of this agency has been a ‘bloody civilian’, some from within its own ranks, others from the civil service. The present director is Britain’s former ambassador to the United Nations. The director reports to the chief cabinet secretary and through him to the prime minister.

Directors of Mossad, the dreaded Israeli intelligence agency which seems to be running rings (if reports in our conservative press and on our fire-breathing TV channels are to be believed) around our very own Mother of All Agencies, has been headed mostly by retired military officials (remember please that military service is compulsory in Israel) but also by ‘bloody civilians’. Mossad’s director is appointed by the prime minister and reports directly to him.

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency reports to the director of national intelligence (DNI), who in turn reports to the White House. The director is appointed by the president after recommendation from the DNI, and must be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate. While there is no statutory provision which specifically excludes active military personnel from being nominated for the position, most directors have been civilians.

Barring Gen Reinhard Gehlen who set up the German intelligence agency Abteilung Fremde Heere Ost to principally keep an eye on the Russian easternfront during the Second World War, the present federal intelligence service, Bundesnachrichtendienst(BND), has always been headed by civilian public officials, notably by civil servant, lawyer and politician of the liberal Free Democratic Party, Klaus Kinkel who rose to be Germany’s federal minister of justice (1991–1992), foreign minister (1992–1998) and vice chancellor of Germany (1993–1998).

Next door in India all directors of RAW have been civilians, either civil servants or policemen or officials from within its own ranks. While the director RAW, also known as ‘Secretary (R)’, is under the direct command of the prime minister, he reports on an administrative basis to the cabinet secretary. However, on a daily basis ‘Secretary (R)’ reports to the national security adviser to the prime minister.

For complete article, click here

Related:
Editorial: The CIA-ISI connection - Daily Times

Pakistan Taliban taps Punjab heartland for recruits

Pakistan Taliban taps Punjab heartland for recruits
Pakistanis are increasingly concerned over the deadly collaboration between Punjabi militants from Sargodha and the Taliban.

By Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2009

Reporting from Sargodha, Pakistan - One by one, recruits from Pakistan's Punjab heartland would make the seven-hour drive to Waziristan, where they would pull up to an office that made no secret of its mission.

The signboard above the office door read "Tehrik-e-Taliban." In a largely ungoverned city like Miram Shah, there was no reason to hide its identity.

The trainees from Sargodha would arrive, grab some sleep at the Taliban office and afterward head into Waziristan's rugged mountains for instruction in skills including karate and handling explosives and automatic rifles.

"Someone recruits them, then someone else takes them to Miram Shah, and then someone in Miram Shah greets them and takes them in," said Sargodha Police Chief Usman Anwar, whose officers this summer arrested a cell of returning Punjabi militants before they could allegedly carry out a plan to blow up a cellphone tower in this city of 700,000. "It's an assembly line, like Ford Motors has."

The arrests of six Punjabi militants in Sargodha in two raids Aug. 24 illustrated a burgeoning collaboration between Punjabi militants and northwestern Pakistan's Taliban that has Pakistanis increasingly concerned as the government focuses its military resources on Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in South Waziristan.

Military commanders say their troops assumed control of most of South Waziristan just three weeks after launching a large-scale offensive aimed at uprooting the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border. Troops are now clashing with Taliban fighters in Makeen, the hometown of slain Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mahsud.

However, evidence is growing that militants in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, could prove just as dangerous as the Taliban militants from the country's northwestern region that includes South Waziristan and other parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA.

Pakistan has been broadsided by a nationwide wave of terrorist strikes in recent weeks, and several of those attacks have involved militants from Punjab either masterminding or carrying out the violence.

A daring Oct. 10 commando raid on the army's headquarters in Rawalpindi, a heavily guarded complex that is Pakistan's equivalent of the Pentagon, was engineered by a Punjabi militant who also organized the deadly ambush of the Sri Lankan cricket team in March.

Punjabi extremists were also believed to be behind near-simultaneous attacks on three police buildings in Lahore that killed 14 people on Oct. 15.

Years ago, the agendas of the Pakistani Taliban and Punjabi militant organizations such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad moved in different directions. Whereas the Taliban has long focused its attacks on Pakistan's Western-allied government, Punjabi groups, which, like the Taliban, are Sunni Muslims, have traditionally targeted Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region and members of Pakistan's Shiite Muslim minority.

Now, however, the missions of the Taliban and Punjabi militants seem to have merged. Law enforcement officials and analysts say the catalyst was the government's 2007 siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad where Islamic extremists held scores of people hostage. The eight-day siege in the Pakistani capital ended in the deaths of more than 100 people.

Then-President Pervez Musharraf ordered security forces to seize the mosque after militants at the sprawling compound set fire to the capital's Environment Ministry building. The siege had been preceded by months of challenges to Musharraf's leadership from the mosque's radical leaders, including an insistence that Pakistan adopt Islamic law.

After the siege, Punjabi militant groups that had been tolerated -- and in some cases fostered -- by Pakistani authorities viewed the government as an enemy.

Experts say Pakistan has neglected to adequately brace for the threat posed by Taliban-trained Punjabi militants. Their cells have spread throughout Punjab province, and law enforcement officials say Punjabi militants have established their own training camps in southern Punjab, a desolate wasteland where the police presence is minimal and a feudal society dominates.

"At the moment, the government is bewildered. It doesn't know how to manage this challenge coming from Punjabi militants," said Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Lahore-based security analyst.

"In the past, Punjab militants were merely facilitating the Taliban. But now they have joined with the Taliban to engage in terrorist attacks."

Southern Punjab provides militant groups a haven to train and reconnoiter. Like the Taliban's primary stronghold in Waziristan, vast tracts of southern Punjab are regarded as tribal areas where rule is laid down by local sardars, or feudal leaders. In some places, the only glint of law enforcement comes in the form of the poorly trained border military police, who take orders largely from feudal leaders, said Maj. Gen. Yaqub Khan of the Pakistan Rangers Punjab.

In an interview on Pakistan's Express News television channel in mid-October, Khan said militants freely move between South Waziristan and the tribal area surrounding the southern Punjab city of Dera Ghazi Khan.

Khan said the jurisdiction of his paramilitary force, which is under the control of the Interior Ministry, is limited to securing a gas pipeline.

"There are no police in the region," he said. "We have confirmed reports that terrorists gather and get training in this region, and they have definite linkage with militants fighting in FATA."

Pakistanis in Dera Ghazi Khan and surrounding villages fear that, as the government continues its crackdown on Taliban militants along the Afghan border, fleeing Taliban fighters may attempt to establish themselves in southern Punjab.

"No one is serious about preventing the Talibanization of our area," said Khawaja Mudasar Mehmood, a Dera Ghazi Khan politician with the ruling Pakistan People's Party. "We face spillover from South Waziristan. Taliban militants are already passing into this area, and the border military police can't prevent it."

In Sargodha, the link to the Taliban is Mohammed Tayyab, who heads the Punjabi Taliban cell in Miram Shah and had close ties with Mahsud, said Anwar, the Sargodha police chief. Tayyab has been accused of engineering the November 2007 suicide bombing attack on a Pakistani air force bus in Sargodha that killed eight people.

After several raids, Tayyab and his militant group are keeping a lower profile in Miram Shah, but they still tap Sargodha for fresh recruits and train them in Waziristan, Anwar said. A primary conduit for recruitment was a madrasa, or Islamic seminary school,run by the father of four brothers who were arrested by Sargodha police in August, accused of planning an attack on the cellphone tower.

"Likely recruits at the madrasas are teens, 14 or 15, without strong links to family," Anwar said. "Poverty is a factor, but having no social links, no future, is the main cause."

Law enforcement officials say the military offensive in South Waziristan has accelerated collaboration among Punjabi militants, the Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda. Punjabi militants have been waging the attacks on behalf of their Taliban and Al Qaeda allies, government officials say, hoping to erode popular backing for military operations in Waziristan.

The problem with battling militancy in Punjab is that the government cannot undertake a crackdown on the scale of the offensives against the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan's Swat Valley or in Waziristan, experts say. Punjab is too densely populated and many in the province still cling to the belief that Pakistan's next-door enemy, India, is behind much of the terrorism in Punjab.

"People don't really recognize Punjabi militants as a threat, or they think these terrorist groups are agents of foreign countries," said Rizvi, the analyst. "So when you start arguing that the roots of the problem lie outside Pakistan, then you don't recognize the threat actually emerging here."

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Taliban under fire at Tablighi Jamaat gathering at Raiwand: A Good Omen...

Taliban under fire at Raiwind gathering

Participants vow to make Pakistan cradle of peace
The News, November 16, 2009

RAIWIND: Inayatullah Khan sits on a dusty rug and prepares to pray at Pakistan’s biggest religious gathering of 400,000 Muslims in Raiwind, cursing the Taliban for their unholy crusade against humanity.

Khan travelled all the way from South Waziristan to take part in the four-day event, one of the world’s largest Islamic gatherings, in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore.A resident of Kanigurram, a former Taliban hub that the military says it has captured during its ongoing five-week offensive in the northwest, Khan, 50, accused the Taliban of straying from the path of God and butchering Muslims.

“They call those who refuse to follow their brand of Islam infidels, not knowing they are inviting the wrath of Allah the Almighty by killing Muslims, which I call an unholy crusade,” Khan said.

A Muslim whose faith is important enough to make an arduous three-day journey and sleep in a tent for four days, Khan invited the Taliban “to join us in spreading Islam’s eternal message of love, affection and peace”. The Thursday-Sunday gathering in Raiwind is being held under tight security due to paced up attacks that have swept the country killing more than 2,500 people in two years.

For complete article, click here

The ‘It-is-not-us’ syndrome: Dawn

The ‘It-is-not-us’ syndrome By Hajrah Mumtaz

Dawn, 15 Nov, 2009
 
A couple of months ago, I wrote a column in praise of certain Pakistani pop stars and bands, arguing that there are a fair number of songs that display political consciousness and a related sense of responsibility. I referred to such songs as Junoon’s ‘Talaash’, Shahzad Roy’s ‘Lagay Raho’ and ‘Kismet Apnay Haath Main’, Noori’s ‘Merey Log’ and Laal’s rendition of Habib Jalib’s ‘Main Nay Uss Say Yeh Kaha.’

I find now that that argument was all very well – as far as it went. Such is the manner in which we are bound by our long-cherished prejudices and mental chains that it took a report by the New York Times’ Adam B. Ellick to show me what I had completely failed to notice: the music acts’ total refusal to either touch upon the topic of the Taliban, or to even acknowledge them as a concern.

In a video report shot in Lahore, Ellick asks a few of Pakistan’s top musicians why they have spoken out against corruption, political wheeling-dealings, poverty and the manner in which the country has been done in by everyone from the politicians to the West to India – but never against the Taliban, who currently constitute the clearest and most present of dangers.

Here, verbatim, is what Ali Noor of Noori has to say:

‘We are not going to get up and say that we want to talk against the Taliban – simply because they are probably one of the smallest problems this country has. [...] It’s the West. It’s the West that is against the Taliban, because they are very heavily affected by it. We’re not.’

And here is what Ali Azmat – the man who once sang about ‘zehni ghulami’ – has to say: ‘We know for a fact that all this turbulence in Pakistan ... it’s not us. It’s the outside hands.’

What, really, can one say? The Taliban are one of the smallest problems this country has? When we’re having a bombing virtually every day, when parts of the south-west of the country were until very recently in serious danger of falling to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and its associated gang of goons?

Ellick comments, dryly, that this view – it’s not us, it’s ‘foreign hands’ – persists despite a spate of bombings in the country with the targets ranging from civilians and security forces’ installations to an Islamic university for women. ‘They’re [Pakistan’s pop musicians] angry about one fact: that the United States has interfered in Pakistan’s politics for decades.’

Of course Ellick focuses in his report on the anti-American angle apparent in many Pakistani pop songs, using stills from the ‘Klashinfolk’, ‘Kismet Apnay Haath Main Lay Li Hai’ and a CoVen video to press his point home. And he ignores other work such as that by Laal. Nevertheless, his point is made well enough to make me cringe: amongst the people interviewed in his report, there seems to be an utter refusal to acknowledge that the Taliban are in any way a threat, or that this is a local, home-grown problem that affects Pakistan first and most deeply.

For complete article, click here
To watch the New York Times video under discussion in the article, click here

Pakistan Expects Canada to lift arms ban: Toronto Star

Pakistan urges Ottawa to lift arms ban

Olivia Ward, Toronto Star, November 11, 2009

Another bloody day ended in Pakistan Tuesday with at least 24 people dead in a car bombing, apparent revenge for an army offensive along the jagged Afghan border.

It was the third attack in the past week that focused on Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, which borders the turbulent tribal region where the Pakistani army is battling to dismantle Al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens.

And if Canada continues its 11-year arms embargo, denying Pakistan some badly needed border surveillance equipment, said Pakistan's Toronto Consul-General Sahebzada Khan, the violence is likely to escalate.

A U.S. troop "surge" against the Taliban in Afghanistan, under debate in Washington, could intensify the embattled country's problems.

"We have told NATO and the United States that new boots on Afghan soil will push Al Qaeda into Pakistan," Khan said in an interview with the Star. "It's a very porous border, and nothing has been done to improve control there."

He is asking Canada to supply technical equipment that would help detect militants and seal the border, a suspected source of attacks on Canadian troops.

"Most of the killings (of troops) have been due to roadside bombs. What we are trying to do is neutralize the people making the bombs," said Khan, a former top foreign ministry official.

It's not the first time Pakistan has sought military aid from Ottawa. Since it began a massive offensive against the Taliban in its border region last spring, it has called for aid including unmanned drone aircraft. Ottawa turned down the requests, citing a 1998 embargo on military exports that began when Pakistan fired its first nuclear tests. Instead, Canada pledged $25 million this year in humanitarian aid for more than a million people displaced in the fighting. It also is giving $34 million in bilateral aid.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India next week is expected to include a deal that would relax a 35-year-old ban on nuclear trade with Pakistan's rival, which also tested atomic weapons. That would likely increase tensions between Islamabad and Ottawa.

"The Pakistanis are bitter," said Kamran Bokhari of the U.S.-based Stratfor global intelligence company, who has just returned from meetings with senior Pakistani military officials. "They say they're doing all the heavy lifting in this war against the Taliban, and getting none of the credit."

Khan said Pakistan wants Ottawa to supply non-lethal military equipment, including thermal detectors to catch militants sneaking over the border, explosives detectors, night-vision goggles, sniffer dogs and mine detection gear.

"Canadian electronics and military equipment is superior," he said. "If we don't get it, controlling the border will not be effective."

But some question why Pakistan, which has received billions of dollars in military aid from the U.S. since 9/11, is so ill prepared to fight a war against the Taliban, which now controls more than a dozen militant groups on the border.

"It's likely that the army received relevant equipment from the U.S., but the extent and challenge of growing militancy in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (the border region) convinced it that it requires much more," said Hassan Abbas, an authority on Pakistani security, and author of Pakistan's Drift into Extremism.

"Pakistan's armed forces are historically trained for conventional warfare with India, and counter-insurgency is a comparatively new concept for them. More so because the terrain of FATA, where the army is now operating, is very mountainous and tough. It needs tools and equipment that are more useful for counter-insurgency."

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Making Sense of Pakistan By Farzana Sheikh - Asia Society Event in New York - November 18


Making Sense of Pakistan
Featuring: Farzana Shaikh, Associate Fellow, Asia Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London

Nov 18, 2009 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Asia Society: 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Pakistan's transformation from a country once projected as a model of Muslim enlightenment to a state faced with a lethal Islamist challenge has dominated headlines in recent years. In her new book, Making Sense of Pakistan, Farzana Shaikh argues that while the failure of governance and the damage wrought by external powers have hastened this decline, Pakistan's problems are rooted primarily in its uncertain foundations as a nation and its ambiguous relation to Islam. Both have heightened the contestation over the meaning of Pakistan and the significance of "being Pakistani." This enduring ideological confusion has also thwarted a stable constitutional settlement, undermined the country's economic future and encouraged a new and dangerous symbiosis between the armed forces and militant groups. Together they have left Pakistan prey to the forces of extremism that today threaten international stability.

Copies of Making Sense of Pakistan will be available for purchase and signing. SHOP Asiastore for the book now.

Schedule: 6:00 – 6:30 pm Registration; 6:30 – 8:00 pm Program

Please note: this event will also be a free video webcast from 6:30 to 8:00 pm EST on AsiaSociety.org. Online viewers are encouraged to send questions to moderator@asiasoc.org.

Policy programs at the Asia Society are generously supported by the Nicholas Platt Endowment for Public Policy.

Rejecting hyper-nationalists

Rejecting hyper-nationalists


Mosharraf Zaidi, The News, November 10, 2009

The voice of Pakistan’s emerging middle class will not always be amplified in ways that serve Pakistanis’ collective interests. The overwhelming majority of the Pakistani middle class takes great pains to conduct and promote an honest and open debate about the issues. Part of taking those pains includes introspection. There is an increasingly important deviant strain of hyper-nationalism mixing itself in with the voice of the Pakistani middle class. Pakistanis need to tackle it with the same integrity and purposefulness that has enabled the establishment of this middle class voice in the first place.

While it remains true that the majority of critique of the Pakistani media is malicious and motivated by attempts to delegitimise the country’s fragile middle class voice, it is also true that the low quality of research, fact-checking and integrity among Pakistani hyper-nationalists makes their work dangerously counter-productive, and hardly strengthens the case of Pakistan. Hyper-nationalist pundits always find America and India as the root of all evil. Hyper-nationalist newspapers seem to have all the news scoops about the evil designs of the enemies, without any evidence. Their abuse of the freedoms that technology and economic growth have afforded to Pakistan is a threat to the growth and influence of the organic middle class — of whom they represent no part.

It was not so long ago, that Pakistan was forever stained by the blood of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. The safety of foreign correspondents should be of paramount interest to anybody who loves Pakistan, and is interested in protecting its reputation, and its potential as a place where foreigners can be safe. Even the most egregiously intellectual light-weights among Pakistanis would want to ensure that foreign journalists would never again have to endure that kind of threat again. It is therefore particularly mind-boggling that in their irrational, unsubstantiated and blind rage, Pakistani hyper-nationalists thought nothing of making a target of Matthew Rosenberg, yet another Wall Street Journal reporter, causing him to be evacuated out of the country, and sending ripples of fear and trepidation among the corps of Pakistan’s foreign correspondents. Accusing someone of spying for Israel, in a permissive environment (for a reporter working for the Wall Street Journal, no less) would only be funny if it was fictional. It’s not. It is deathly serious. Already, other correspondents (like Marie France Calle of Le Figaro) are asking questions about their own safety.

For complete article, click here

The dream of reality: Allama Iqbal's 132nd Birth Anniversary


The dream of reality
Dawn, November 9, 2009
In his prose work, Allama Muhammad Iqbal foresaw the trajectory of the Pakistani masses, writes Khurram Ali Shafique.


The best resource for understanding the work of Allama Iqbal is the collective experience of the Pakistani masses, including the unschooled. Call it a dream, but I consider it to be reality.

Let me give an example. The greatest prose work of Iqbal is in English, and is called The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. It was first published from Lahore in early 1930, and later (with some addition) by the UK-based Oxford University Press in 1934. Few Iqbal scholars claim that they can explain even half of the seven lectures contained within that volume. Hence, there is not the slightest chance that the masses of Pakistan, mostly unschooled, may have read, studied, or even heard about it.

Yet, if we divide the history of our community from 1887 to 2026 into seven periods (and this division is based on certain principles adopted from Iqbal), we discover that the topic of one lecture from the book becomes the dominant issue for the masses in each period. The sequence is exactly the same in which they appear in the Reconstruction. Of course, scholars prefer to discuss the book in its entirety (though with little results). But it is more productive to consider how one particular topic became the dominant issue for the people at each historical stage. The lectures contained in the Reconstruction are:

1. 1887-1906: Knowledge and the Revelations of Religious Experience
2. 1907-1926: Philosophical Test of the Revelations of Religious Experience
3. 1927-46: Conception of God and the Meaning of Prayer
4. 1947-66: Human Ego – His Freedom and Immortality
5. 1967-86: The Spirit of Muslim Culture
6. 1987-2006: The Principle of Movement in the Structure of Islam
7. 2007-26: Is Religion Possible?

For complete article, click here
 
To read, Iqbal's Reconstruction of Religious Though in Islam, click here
Visit: http://www.allamaiqbal.com/

Sunday, November 08, 2009

From Pakistan to Paris, by VW Beetle



From Pakistan to Paris, by VW Beetle
A French doctor is embarking on the 6,000-mile trip to promote a better image of Pakistan. 'It's not all about terrorism,' he says.
Declan Walsh, The Guardian, Monday 9 November 2009

Low-key is good in Islamabad these days, where the threat of Taliban suicide bombings has filled Pakistan's capital with checkposts, blast walls and a queasy air of anxiety. But one proudly conspicuous car rolled through the streets last week – a 25-year-old Volkswagen Beetle, painted in an explosion of trippy colours. At the wheel was a defiant doctor, Vincent Loos, headed for Paris.

"My dream was to return by road," says the 39-year-old Frenchman, who has just finished three years' work at a local hospital. Doctors without borders indeed – or perhaps doctors without sense. Only six months ago his ride was a dust-smeared wreck, collapsed at the bottom of an Islamabad street waiting for a final trip to the scrapyard. Loos, an intensive care specialist, restored the car to full health, then hired an artist to paint in the local style known as "truck art".

Now the "Foxy Shahzadi", or Beetle Princess, is the most distinctive car from Lahore to Lyons. The body is covered in a psychedelic array of flowers, waterfalls and the faces of famous Pakistanis. The idea behind the 6,000-mile trip is to promote the "soft side" of Pakistan. "We want to show the world it's not just about terrorism," says Loos.

Travelling by Foxy, as Beetles are affectionately known in Pakistan, Loos is paying homage to a local motoring cult. Dozens of well-maintained Beetles ply the streets. (Mine, in a cool grey, is Betsy, a proud 1967 model.)

The Beetle came to Pakistan in the 1950s with army officers and bureaucrats returning from postings abroad. The appeal has endured – Mubashir Hasan, a finance minister from the 1970s, still drives his around Lahore. Romano Karim of Islamabad's VW club estimates about 500 "Foxies" travel Pakistan's roads. "Cute, quirky, cheap spare parts – it's the ideal car," he says.

The French doctor's Foxy should reach Paris in about two weeks. His team is equipped with an ample stock of spare parts and a line of Urdu poetry inscribed on the bonnet: "Every mother's prayer is a breeze from paradise."

Islamabad police shoot dead would-be bomber: Police Deserves Appreciation

Capital police shoot dead would-be bomber
The News, November 09, 2009 - By Shakeel Anjum

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Police, foiling an attempt of terrorism, gunned a suicide bomber at a police picket on the Margalla Road near E-11 as the suspected bomber cried ‘Allah-ho-Akbar’ while trying to blow him up.

The police targeted the head of the suicide bomber just before he triggered the explosive device.Experts and bomb disposal squad defused the explosive after an hour-long struggle and cleared the situation.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Islamabad, Syed Kaleem Imam, terming it a great achievement of the police, said, “We are proud of the personnel who foiled the terrorism bid and protected the people’s lives in such perilous circumstances.”

The IGP said the police were trying to intercept the vehicle, which had dropped the terrorist. “It is premature to say that the vehicle was explosive-laden or it only facilitated the suicide bomber,” he said.

The interior minister, appreciating the police performance, ordered one-step promotion for the personnel deployed at the police picket. Station House Officer (SHO), Shalimar Police Station, Altaf Aziz Khatak, told The News that he was standing in the middle of the green belt dividing the Margalla Road during checking of Nakas when a black twin cabin came from the E-11 Signal Chowk at about 9.40 pm, dropped a bearded young man and sped away towards the Saddam Chawk, Golra side.

Meanwhile, the young man cried Allah-ho-Akbar and started running towards the picket, the SHO said adding that he, perceiving the danger, asked the personnel to lie down on the ground. He said that he, as well as ASI Malik Mumtaz, Head Constables Moojad Shah, Nazim Hussain and Ali Raza, whipped out their guns and started firing, aiming at his head. He said that he rushed to the terrorist after he fell down and checked his body, adding that the suspected bomber was wearing a suicide jacket.

Khatak said that he informed the police control, asking it to send an ambulance and the bomb disposal unit to defuse the explosive jacket. The SHO said that the suspected bomber was about 25 years with 5.7 height and wearing Shalwar-Qamiz and white joggers. He said that he belonged to Waziristan.

We will not solve the problem with troops alone: US National Security Advisor

We will not solve the problem with troops alone
Der Spiegel, November 7, 2009

US National Security Adviser James L. Jones talks to SPIEGEL about his skepticism regarding calls for more US troops to be sent to Afghanistan, the chances of Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands and President Barack Obama's leadership style.

SPIEGEL: General Jones, it's now 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union imploded. Has the world become a safer place?

James L. Jones: Tremendous accomplishments were made over a number of years to bring freedom and democracy to that portion of Europe that was left out of the drive. The events that took place 20 years ago meant for the whole of Europe much more peace and much more opportunity for the citizens that had lived on both sides of the wall.

SPIEGEL: But it was not yet the "end of history," as the American political scientist Francis Fukuyama and many others predicted. What is the gravest threat to the American homeland today?

Jones: I worry most about proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in such a way that they could be acquired by non-governmental organizations, like terrorist groups, especially the radical groups that we know are trying to get these weapons. We're convinced that if they were to get them, they would use them. When a nation state has a nuclear weapon, it's a little bit easier to control the use of it, but for non-governmental groups it's much more difficult. We are obviously worried about North Korea and Iran, but the threat that's hardest to control is the non nation states, groups of individuals who could acquire such a weapon and what they would do.

SPIEGEL: Do you assume that some terrorist groups are close to that goal?

Jones: We're doing a good job nationally and internationally to make sure that we safeguard that eventuality from happening.

SPIEGEL: Is Pakistan the most dangerous place in the world, given that the Taliban and al-Qaida are increasing their sphere of influence?

Jones: Pakistan is certainly a point of strategic interest for us, for the alliance, and for much of the watching world because of the fact that they are nuclear -- they do have nuclear weapons, and they do have an ongoing insurgency.

SPIEGEL: Is it possible that the civilian government and the armed forces could lose control over these nuclear weapons?

Jones: It is something that we work on with the Pakistanis regularly. I've been assured that they're doing everything they can to make sure that these weapons are very tightly controlled and secured.

SPIEGEL: And you think the generals are assessing the situation realistically?

Jones: We are cooperating very closely. We hope that they are successful in combating their insurgencies because since 2006 this has become a real cancer on the border regions.

SPIEGEL: The Obama administration is reviewing the strategy for Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, is asking for additional troops.

Jones: Generals always ask for more troops. Take it from me.

SPIEGEL: You would know. You're also a general and you were in Afghanistan from 2003 to almost 2007 ...

Jones: ... and of course when I was there I asked for more troops. When we started in 2003, we had to develop a plan. So by definition, you have to ask for people.

SPIEGEL: And now you support General McChrystal's demand for 40,000 additional troops?

Jones: We are in the middle of a process with the president and all of his advisers in assessing the overall situation in Afghanistan. I believe we will not solve the problem with troops alone. The minimum number is important, of course. But there is no maximum number, however. And what's really important in Afghanistan is that with this new administration we insist on good governance, that it be coordinated with economic development and security, and that we have much, much better success at handing over responsibility for these three things to the Afghans.

For complete article click here

Somwhat Related:
Defending the Arsenal - By Seymour Hersh,New Yorker

Saturday, November 07, 2009

From Israel: Where all the friendships gone...

View From Israel
“Where Have All the Friendships Gone…”
The struggle over the Goldstone report is now at its height. In Jerusalem, the rising energy of the waves can be clearly felt. Does this portend a tsunami?
Uri Avnery, Outlook India, October 30, 2009

According to a Chinese saying, if someone in the street tells you that you are drunk, you can laugh. If a second person tells you that you are drunk, start to think about it. If a third one tells you the same, go home and sleep it off.

Our political and military leadership has already encountered the third, fourth and fifth person. All of them say that they must investigate what happened in the “Molten Lead” operation.

They have three options:

•to conduct a real investigation.
•to ignore the demand and proceed as if nothing has happened.
•to conduct a sham inquiry.
IT IS easy to dismiss the first option: it has not the slightest chance of being adopted. Except for the usual suspects (including myself) who demanded an investigation long before anyone in Israel had heard of a judge called Goldstone, nobody supports it.

Among all the members of our political, military and media establishments who are now suggesting an “inquiry”, there is no one – literally not one – who means by that a real investigation. The aim is to deceive the Goyim and get them to shut up.

Actually, Israeli law lays down clear guidelines for such investigations. The government decides to set up a commission of investigation. The president of the Supreme Court then appoints the members of the commission. The commission can compel witnesses to testify. Anybody who may be damaged by its conclusions must be warned and given the opportunity to defend themself. Its conclusions are binding.

This law has an interesting history. Sometime in the 50s, David Ben-Gurion demanded the appointment of a “judicial committee of inquiry” to decide who gave the orders for the 1954 “security mishap”, also known as the Lavon Affair. (A false flag operation where an espionage network composed of local Jews was activated to bomb American and British offices in Egypt, in order to cause friction between Egypt and the Western powers. The perpetrators were caught.)

Ben-Gurion’s request was denied, under the pretext that there was no law for such a procedure. Furious, Ben-Gurion resigned from the government and left his party. In one of the stormy party sessions, the Minister of Justice, Yaakov Shimshon Shapira, called Ben-Gurion a “fascist”. But Shapira, an old Russian Jew, regretted his outburst later. He drafted a special law for the appointment of Commissions of Investigation in the future. After lengthy deliberations in the Knesset (in which I took an active part) the law was adopted and has since been applied, notably in the case of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Now I wholeheartedly support the setting up of a Commission of Investigation according to this law.

For complete article, click here

Friday, November 06, 2009

Islam in America: Muslims at Fort Voice Outrage and Ask Questions

Muslims at Fort Voice Outrage and Ask Questions
New York Times, November 6, 2009

KILLEEN, Tex. — Leaders of the vibrant Muslim community here expressed outrage on Friday at the shooting rampage being laid to one of their members, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who had become a regular attendee of prayers at the local mosque.

But some of the men who had befriended Major Hasan at the mosque said the military should examine the policies that might have caused him to snap.

“When a white guy shoots up a post office, they call that going postal,” said Victor Benjamin II, 30, a former member of the Army. “But when a Muslim does it, they call it jihad.

“Ultimately it was Brother Nidal’s doing, but the command should be held accountable,” Mr. Benjamin said. “G.I.’s are like any equipment in the Army. When it breaks, those who were in charge of keeping it fit should be held responsible for it.”

The mosque, the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen, sits off Highway 195, near Fort Hood. Major Hasan began attending prayers about two months ago.

The mosque has about 75 families who have lived peacefully with their Christian neighbors.

“After 9/11, nothing happened here,” said Ajsaf Khan, who owns three convenience stores with his brother, Abdul Khan. “We are very cooperative.”

A mosque leader, Dr. Manzoor Farooqi, a pediatrician, when asked if he feared retribution for the shootings, said he hoped good relations would prevail.

Major Hasan was one of about 10 men from Fort Hood who attended prayers in their uniforms, Dr. Farooqi said, and he was shocked to see the major’s face on television identified as that of the gunman. “He is an educated man. A psychiatrist,” he said. “I can’t believe he would do such a stupid thing.”

“I have no words to explain what happened yesterday,” Dr. Farooqi said at Friday afternoon prayers, in which about 40 men were led by the mosque’s imam, Syed Ahmed Ali. “Let’s have a moment of silence to bless those who lost their life.”

“The Islamic community strongly condemns this cowardly attack, which was particularly heinous in that it was directed at the all-volunteer army that protects our nation,” Dr. Farooqi said.

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, “We reiterate the American Muslim community’s condemnation of this cowardly attack. Right now, we call on all Americans to assist those who are responding to this atrocity. We must ensure that the wounded are treated and the families of those who were murdered have an opportunity to mourn.”

Among those attending Friday prayers at the Killeen mosque was Sgt. Fahad Kamal, 26, an Army medic who wore his Airborne uniform, and later he said he was angered on several levels. “I want to believe it was the individual, and not the religion, that made him do what he did,” said Sergeant Kamal, who returned to the United States last year after a 15-month tour in Afghanistan. “It’s an awful thing. I feel let down. We’re better than this.”

It was Major Hasan, though, who increasingly felt let down by the military, and deeply conflicted by his religion, said those who knew him through the mosque. Duane Reasoner Jr., an 18-year-old substitute teacher whose parents worked at Fort Hood, said Major Hassan was told he would be sent to Afghanistan on Nov. 28, and he did not like it.

“He said he should quit the Army,” Mr. Reasoner said. “In the Koran, you’re not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell.”

Mr. Benjamin, who worked as a private contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan after leaving the Army in 2000, said the military should have let Major Hassan resign. “They should take more consideration of the human beings in the uniform,” he said, “rather than simply say, ‘We invested our money in you and need to get our money’s worth.’ ”

Still, Mr. Benjamin added, Major Hassan had overlooked an important, and peaceable, tenet of Islam. “We do have the right to retaliate,” he said, “but he who does not is twice blessed.”

Related:
COMMENT: Attack on Fort Hood —Rafia Zakaria - DT
Fort Hood suspect's religion was an issue, family says - CNN
Fear grips US Muslims after Texas army base shooting - Dawn