Targeting Pakistan
By Saad Hafiz: Pakistan may be facing the most decisive moment of its survival. The persecution and killing of Muslims by other Muslims on supposed religious grounds has reached horrifying levels. Terrorist and sectarian violence, targeting both the powerful and the powerless, spearheaded by groups such as the Tehrik–e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), has created havoc. Both groups are part of an even larger network that includes the Islamist sectarian militias in the country, hard-line activists in Pakistan’s mainstream Islamist political parties and organisations, and sympathisers in government institutions and across social classes. Sufi Islam has given way to Wahabi bigotry as the country has become increasingly intolerant and de-secularised, allowing obscurantism to prosper. The culture of militancy in Pakistan largely stems from the extreme hard-line Islamic ideologies practised in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
The Dwindling Hope and the Case for Military Action
Raza Habib Raja Terrorism has again struck Shiites in Quetta killing many people. As I write these sentences, the targeted Hazaras who have witnessed massacre over the past many years, are refusing to bury the bodies and demanding direct military rule in Quetta. This is the lowest Pakistan can get where the state has become so dysfunctional that people actually start wanting direct military rule. In the rest of the Pakistan, there have been sporadic protests … Read entire article »
Playing all sides of the fence
By Saad Hafiz: There is nothing new in the pattern of condemnations and wake up calls after the recent assassination of Bashir Bilour by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Similar views were expressed after the murders of Benazir Bhutto, Salmaan Taseer and other notable terrorism victims. A consensus on a concerted strategy to combat the existential threat posed by terrorism continues to elude the country despite the thousands of military and civilian casualties in the war on terror. The military and the politicians prevaricate comfortably in passing the buck on to the other. The other key social influencers — the clergy, the intelligentsia and the media — seem pleased in obfuscating the terrorism issue. The TTP’s brazen confidence grows as they casually accept responsibility for their various acts of murder and mayhem. Their immediate … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
Explaining evil acts
By Saad Hafiz: While al Qaeda and the young men shooting up the school both seek to create terror in others, only the evil acts of the first are labelled as actual terrorism Trying to explain the evil acts that kill innocents daily round the globe like the one that killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, USA, is on a par with explaining how the universe was formed. There may be no greater expression of evil than the murder of children in their classrooms. Mary O’Toole, who worked for 15 years in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit where she studied psychopaths and helped capture killers, described Adam Lanza’s well-planned shooting rampage as “callousness in the extreme” and “off the charts”. The men who resort to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
Irrational Patriotism and Pakistan
Raza Habib Raja In Pakistan, watching the media talk shows can be an enlightening and in fact entertaining experience. The “pearls” of wisdom uttered in these talk shows are a testimony to the intellectual orientation of the hosts, participants and unfortunately even the regular viewers who have become addicted to this Pakistani version of Indian soap operas. Like Indian soap operas, these talk shows aim to create melodrama, controversy and try their level … Read entire article »
Filed under: Army, Education, FATA, Taliban, Terrorism, Uncategorized, USA
Fall out of Malala Tragedy
By Prof. Farah A Khan: It was a sad day when 14 years old Malala was shot at point blank range in her school van in Mingora, Swat. Two other girls were also injured. This brought out massive grief and anger in the Pakistani society. But it left me and so many others confused. The TTP admitted responsibility for the shooting claiming that she was ‘defaming’ the Taliban and fraternizing with the enemy i.e. the Western … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
Taliban are Today’s Kharjites
by Amaar Ahmad The fourth Caliph of Islam and the Holy Prophet (pbuh)’s son in law Ali bin Abu Talib was martyred by a member of the Kharjite movement because Ali had “deviated” from Islam in their view. ”Obedience to Allah and mutual consultation” was their slogan for which they branded any Muslim a heretic and liable for death. Using brutal violence against women and children, they tried but ultimately failed to impose their beliefs on society. Today, the Taliban and their Takfiri supporters are following the exact same violent path to their own oblivion. Years before the first American drone took off, these Taliban were killing Hazara Shia and Iranian diplomats, blowing off Buddha statues in Bamiyan and denying women their fundamental and Islamic right to education. Contrary to politicians’ pronouncements, military operations in Swat … Read entire article »
A Battle of Ideas
by Abdul Majeed Abid “When I knew that they were burning our schools, I thought they were burning education, they were burning books. I have to be educated. I’ll be educated no matter what the odds.” Malala Yousafzai Last Week’s attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old beacon of hope from Swat, garnered all sorts of reactions. Most people were shocked by the brutality of the perpetrators. The timing of that attack, in my opinion, was an extremely unfortunate one as it co-incided with the ending of PTI’s “Peace March” towards Waziristan. Attack on Malala has been construed as a stepping stone to military operation in Waziristan, a primer that turns public opinion towards a certain tilt. Conspiracy theories have been spun at an alarming pace about involvement of various Intelligence Agencies … Read entire article »
Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Army, Democracy, Education, FATA, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Religion, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, USA, violence, Women
Karachi killings: Revamp the Police (PTH)
By 2paisay: Just last night someone was asked me what are these killings in Karachi. Is it Shiite Sunni? I replied its more than that. Seeing that the guy was a conservative local, I didn’t know whether he could get the example of Sao Paulo and Favela vs Gated communities (an extreme analogy) so I asked him has he seen depiction of Mexico in movies. He replied in affirmative so I told him, like Mexico in movies its a free for all shiite vs sunni, Mohajir vs Balochi, Mohajir vs Pathans, extortion mafia which comprises of mainly MQM, ANP, PPP, ST and Police, fights over whether the mosque will be Barelvi or otherwise, kidnapping by Talibans and Sindis etc, bank robberies to finance terrorist activities and anybody else who wants to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
Confronting extremism
By Saad Hafiz: US Senator Robert F Kennedy once wrote, “What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” Contemporary extremists, motivated by a religious imperative, have engaged in more hate speak against a far wider category of opponents, encompassing not merely their declared enemies but anyone who does not share their religious faith, and even persons who are of the same faith but who do not share their extreme political views and theological constructs. The dissemination of personalised hate messages is being assisted by the omnipresence and timeliness of the Internet, which can easily circumvent official censorship. Inflammatory messages can be circulated anonymously, quickly, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Terrorism
Fallacies that befuddle the ‘educated’ Pakistani mind
by Abdul Majeed Wise people always say, Do not try to present complex matters in black and white terms as it will defeat the purpose. To quote Paul Valery: “That which is simple is always false; that which is not simple is always unusable”. Kala Kawa, a widely read blogger, recently wrote, “Something I Wrote On Pakistan Day”. In that particular blogpost, the blogger expressed his opinion about “confronting your own biases or assumptions” and “middle class … Read entire article »
Filed under: Al Qaeda, Conservation, Islam, Islamism, Pakistan, Politics, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, Women
Profile: Zaid Hamid
by Abdul Majeed Biography Zaid Hamid was born in Karachi on March 14, 1964. His father, Col. Zaman Hamid (Retd), served in the Pakistan Army. Zaid spent his early life in Karachi. He received a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in Computer Systems Engineering from NED University, Karachi in 1980′s. According to the brochure published by BrassTacks, available on the website www.zaidhamid.pk. Zaid Hamid rose to the fore when he started a program named Brass Tacks on a TV channel, discussing … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, History, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Society, Terrorism
The Curious Case of Difa e Pakistan Council
Difa-e-Pakistan is an Urdu word meaning Defense of Pakistan. Difa-e-Pakistan Council means a council willing to/responsible for defending Pakistan. The semantics dictate that the said council should comprise of representatives of the armed forces, the para-military forces, domestic law enforcement agencies, defense ministry and foreign ministry. In fact, the esteemed council that has come to the fore recently consists of none of the above. In the words of the journalist Ejaz Haider, it’s a “circus”. Much … Read entire article »
Filed under: Democracy, Islam, Pakistan, Politics, Society, Taliban, Terrorism, Uncategorized
Extinguished hope
By Ahsan Kureshi A friend, who shares my ‘liberal’ perspective on almost all things, inquired why I was surprised on what had happened. ‘Shouldn’t we be used to all this?’ His question got me thinking. Are we actually so drowned in the wetsand of fanaticism that the call of an auction of the ‘Holy weapon of Qadri’ was not even a head-turner? Are we bent upon staying fearful and oblivious to all that we deem as absurd? Is a debate on the said topic too much to ask for? Too volatile of a question with a ‘playing-with-a-knife’ consequence? Indeed and sadly yes; atleast, that’s what it seems. What saddens me today the most is the biases of the pioneers of the ‘freedom-of-speech’ manifesto, the media. The morning newspaper (5th Jan) that greeted me today, … Read entire article »
Filed under: liberal Pakistan, Media, Opinion, Terrorism
Mumbai Massacre Part 2
By D. Asghar As these lines are being written, over 20 precious lives are no more in Mumbai. 100 plus people are injured and as reports trickle in, sadly the number of impacted physically, keeps on rising. People of Mumbai have barely recovered from the 2008 terrorist attacks and now this. Many speculations and opinions came to fore almost instantaneously, thanks to electronic media and twitteriti. Some were just down right stupid as usual and some were worth paying attention to. The electronic media reported just yesterday that, India has given a list of most wanted criminals to Pakistan. Mostly people related to terrorism and related senseless acts. Its a pity that we have (supposedly) within our boundaries, responsible for such heinous acts. It is equally damning to hear rebuttals, which are proven … Read entire article »
Filed under: India, Pakistan, Pakistan-India Peace Process, Terrorism, violence, war
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