Osama’s or Obama’s Pakistan?
In the aftermath of the American military action that killed Osama bin Laden, the debate in Pakistan has decisively shifted to the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty by the US, as was perhaps expected. The big question as to why the world’s most wanted terrorist was found here in the first place has all but disappeared from the national radar. Once again the nation is found dozing off at a time when hectic and earnest efforts are needed to inquire into the matter that can bring Pakistan to the centre stage of the US-led ‘war on terror’.
Let’s face it: it is less about our sovereignty and more about accountability to the people of Pakistan and to the international community. If we have terrorists with global linkages living in and working out of Pakistan unbeknown to our otherwise menacing security agencies and we don’t get on their trail, the US (and others) will. The outrage here should have been over the fact that bin Laden was living here for the past many years undetected, and not over who took him out with the least collateral damage caused to Pakistan in the process.
It is still not past the time when the war against terrorism should be owned and called our own battle. Terrorism has killed and maimed more Pakistanis than any other nation anywhere in the world since 9/11, but there isn’t much we done about it. For instance, how many terrorists are apprehended by our law enforcement agencies and brought to justice? Our security forces can find and kill an octogenarian Baloch leader hiding in a cave because he and a handful of his close associates had defied a general but they cannot be commissioned to nab the terrorists who have attacked the armed forces, the police and innocent citizens alike. They have not even spared our dead ones and attacked the shrines regularly. This is simply beyond comprehension.
Even in those rare cases when terrorists are apprehended, the police have failed to build a strong prosecution case against them and the courts have had to let them walk free for lack of evidence. Not only that, known and dreaded militants and hijackers wanted by India and others, the entire Islamabad Lal Masjid brigade and the likes, are free citizens who do not operate out of their mountain hideouts but are allowed to disseminate their hate-filled agenda in the cities and towns across the land.
Banning outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamaatud Dawa, Jandullah, Jaish-i-Mohammed, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and so many others, which openly brook sympathy for al Qaeda and its global terrorist agenda, has not made their leadership run for cover. Far from it. They are free to preach, train and plan attacks across Pakistan, and perhaps elsewhere. Does any other country provide hate-mongers such an open platform from which to operate?
Then, there are tiers of extremist elements that are well tolerated by the state. A majority of these comprise homegrown militants and not runaway fugitives from their home countries. It starts right there in our parliament where MPs belonging to rightwing parties derail all and any debate on curbing extremism. The PML-Q leaders protected the Lal Masjid militants after Musharraf’s action against them, and even announced lifetime scholarships for their upkeep; Mullah Fazlullah of Swat and his Taliban commanders are at large. The PML-N leaders have known allies among extremist elements in southern Punjab, the hotbed of Punjabi Taliban and the like. Both the parties deny the existence of Punjabi Taliban, thereby protecting such elements and their identities from public scrutiny. Imran Khan’s PTI disowns the ‘war on terror’ altogether, calling the tribal jihadists patriotic Pakistanis who have made many sacrifices in the past.
The presence of the religious parties and their stance in parliament is blatant. There are no subtleties involved in deciphering their views on the raging extremism. The JUI and the Jamaat-i-Islami vehemently demand that Pakistan opt out of the partnership with America in its fight against terrorism. The JUI MPs condemned the killing of bin Laden in most unequivocal terms and led protest rallies. Others offered funeral prayers for him in the streets of this country.
Rightist elements also man the airwaves of Pakistan’s independent media. Obscurantist talk show hosts and lecturers holding forth on geo-political affairs is the norm on TV. Over the years so much ground has been ceded to extremists that their spin doctoring of issues has now become the mainstream discourse in the media. It is an environment where global thought patterns in interpreting current affairs are rejected and logical debates and discourses snubbed. Xenophobia in regard to the rest of the world envelopes most national discourse. Issues are twisted beyond recognition, and imagination is allowed to run wild, which brings into spotlight nothing but Pakistan’s enemies surrounding it from all sides.
This victim mindset that we continue to nurture by evading the real problem of extremism and not doing anything about it, places us at the mercy of the Osamas and the Obamas of the world. It is a free country for either to beat down upon, as a meek government and a powerful military establishment look the other way.
Fortified and ensconced in the safety net of the security apparatus that both the civil and military leadership is, it is hard to understand why the leadership should not own and fight the war of Pakistan’s survival against extremism with full force of the state. Complacence is a respectable word for it implies that a conscious choice has been made; ‘free for all’ is more likely what is at work here.
The writer is a Dawn staffer
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Nice article. It is time to clean the slate and head toward rebuilding the country, by making the right choices. Please rebuild a secure and safe country where citizens can live in peace and be proud of. I wish the very best. Get out and vote for the right people and voice your concerns.
How we can blame others for all the situation prevailing currently, when time comes to choose our leadership, we always remained on the wrong side.
It should be Pakistan's Pakistan. Ask both the kids to play outside and not in our home !!
Here people are talking about accountability….Eleven hours of marathon session of parliament to discuss Bin Laden killing..Even if they spend 50% of the time to do something about their economy, Pakistan will be much better off…. Politicians haven't got their priorities right
Great article! In essence terrorism is more of a problem for Pakistan than for US, Europe or India. Pakistan bleeds a lot more! Pakistan should fight it for its own survival and freedom. Forget about US, drone attacks, violation of territorial integrity in Abbottabad. A lot more is at stake here! When Pakistan rids itself of terror these things will stop automatically.
All responses to the contents of the article are right, but they have missed the basic point of the writer that OBL affair is less about our sovereignty and more about accountability of our government and our establishment, civil as well as military. Who is going to do the accountability?
Wow… what an article!!!! awesome….I have not come across such a lovely article in the recent past any where in the world… Let the fire of this article engulf the hearts of pakistan in particular and the entire world in general. Once this happens, there will no hatred, who is big and who is small will just vanish from the world. Forget about we pakistanis, we indians, we americans etc.etc… and let us all be ONE HUMANKIND…. I am born in a Hindu family and so I am a Hindu… my birth in a hindu family is by chance and not by choice and similar is the case with every one in this world…. Had I born into a muslim or a christian family, I would have become a muslim or a christian… so what is religion about… and what are we so religous about…. let us all be one mankind… GOD BLESS ALL….
My dear Raja! have you seen the comments on your Indian forums abusing Pakistan, muslims and Islam? Also the quality of journalism 0f your media?
there is a difference between abusing and killing Mr Khan
Brilliant article.
Many Pakistanis including myself are persuaded of hypocrite and biased attitude of our religious and political parties. Yes, we are all sick of this situation. Enough is enough. We must not tolerate such people and all activities of all banned outfits must be stopped. The only question is if there is any sane person left in the top management of our country.
I suggest that a copy of this article should be sent to PML Q, PML N, JUI and TIP asking key leaders of all these parties to send in writing their official stance on hot issues evoked in this article which Dawn will publish.
I can tell you that all Pakistanis living abroad are simply humiliated. Today, our country is known as “Terrorists paradise”, “the most dangerous country in the world” and “the third most corrupt country in the world” …
Dawn is probably the only journal that gives us some hope. So, please keep writing as much as you can.
Why not to PPP, which is proving to be most incompetent in handling any situation.
I think I was explicit enough …!
Now I find different views have emerged from public opinion. A person selects any one to his own choice, but never considers about all aspects of situation. The competing views as follows:-
1. Bin Laden killed. And how he manged to stay in a large house in a small town, close to millitary garrison, frequently visited by Generals.
2. US in incorrect because they violated sovereignty of Pakistan. And how military could not detect the intruders.
3. Killing him was not correct. Burying in the sea was also not correct.
4. Bin Laden was not present in Pakistan at all. US has created merely a drama by killing someone else.
I wish that in due course Pakistan and rest of world will come to only one point and jointly proceed towards global peace and progress.
I think the following statements from Stephens Cohon beautifully sums up Paksitan's foreign and national policy and Establishment. It is time for us to get rid of this establishment and claim Pakistan back. Paksitan belongs to noone (Obama or Osama) other than its people.
Establishment: "an informal political system that [ties] together the senior ranks of the military, the civil service, key members of the judiciary, and other elites."
Policy: "India must be countered at every turn; that nuclear weapons have endowed Pakistan with security and status; that the fight for Kashmir is unfinished business from the time of partition; that large-scale social reforms such as land redistribution are unacceptable; that the uneducated and illiterate masses deserve only contempt; that vociferous Muslim nationalism is desirable but true Islamism is not; and that Washington is to be despised but fully taken advantage of. Underlying these "core principles," one might add, is a willingness to serve power at any cost."
What is so incredible is the debate about bin Laden. He became relevant after the Soveit invasion of Afghanistan. Inflamed by the ideas of Syed Qutub and Abdullah Azam, he was convinced that a way to drive the god-less infidel, the Muslims must reunite under one Islamic banner. Once the Soviet Union was out by 1989, he didn't see that it was the technological prowess of the other infidel superpower that had finally drove away the Soviets. Rather than seeing the obvious, he by then had become fortified in his ideological believes. After watching the defeat of the one super power. He became delusional enough to see the demise of the other super power. In this super power, he saw the foot prints of the Crusaders all around the Holy places of Islam.
His problem wasn't simply of under estimating super powers. His greatest problem lied in detecting the defeciencies that ailed the Muslim socieites. To this day, even after the Arab Spring, most of the Muslims are as helpless as they were before when bin Laden took up arms. Pakistan has much to learn from this Fiasco.
Let’s face it. Everyone involved be it politicians, security staff or even the highest ranking military officer are human beings. They have a job to do, but at the same time they have a family and a life. By openly going against the terrorists they could endanger their own lives and their families. I can understand if even courageous people like Imran khan don’t speak out against the terrorists. Fears of you own life can dictate your words and actions. This fear is acceptable among human beings, I am not saying these men are cowards, indeed they may be brave human beings in their own way. No one wants to die unnecessarily at the hands of terrorists. The prime minister and the military head should have a meeting, discuss how to protect everyone. There should be a joint statement from all politicians, army staff etc. denouncing terrorism. This way no one will be singled out and present themselves at risk. The people who refuse to take part in the joint statement will then be singled out as people who have nothing to offer this nation.
Pakistanis need to learn from Indian society. Culturally Indians & Pakistanis are the same but why so vast difference between the two socities. The reason is Indians are secular by mindset. Hindusn may sometime resent the minority appeasement but by & large Indians would not deny others including minorities a rightful share in the nationhood. It is becuase India has been secular thru the ages that India has survived over centuries. Come to think of it even the Afghans & Mopala muslims who settled here absorbed this culture of tolerance and became secular rulers.
Osama's son has declared that his father is dead. Osama's wives have said he is no more. Obama has declared that Osama is no longer going to walk on the face of the earth. So I think it does establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he was very much present at the compound at Abbotabad and is now dead.
I think the Pakistani awam now have a real chance to force a change in the way country is being governed. Am sure that whatever an aadmi ther feels about america, India or the world, am sure they want a decent living and dignity for self and the country. So, they should mobilize to enough pressure to have the authorities get rid of killers – does not matter whether they killed the Americans or the Indians or the Pakistanis.
Well said! Younger generation needs to fight for their rights and take control of the country before it is totally unlivable for the "Aam Aadmi". Present leaders are not trustworthy, they would deny all their shameful decisions. So many training camps exist – and for what? Just to protect Government's inability to run the country in a way a civilized country Pakistan's people deserve!! Good luck!!
The fact that Osama bin Laden (and company) was able to live undetected in Abbotabad, a mere 800 or so meters from Pakistan’s premier military academy, for the past 5 plus years is hard to believe. Let us start with this being a military town, with various army training facilities, along with many current and retired senior army officers. As such, security issues required every citizen to have identity cards and such just to live there. Now add to this the suspicions about who really lived in the bin Laden compound by neighbors and merchants, since the occupants appear to have never mingled or partictipated in social or charity events. If neighbors and such were curious, and this curiosity being discussed around the area, would not the security services be alerted to this odd compound, with no phone or internet service, and yet logistically requiring yearly food and drink supplies for some twenty plus individuals who do not seem to exist!
Dear Sir
I congratulate you for being one and only sane voice in present situation in Pakistan. I am an Indian and living in US and I want India and Pakistan to live together peacefully. I did an experiment and started reading and watching Pakistan media. To my horror, I found in Pakistan, everywhere people live in denial, extremists view are respected and propagated. They don't believe on what world believes and always have some conspiracy theory up the sleeve to deny the truth. There is so much self praise on everything without looking at the reality. In present situation, also they have so many versions of conspiracy theories. I hope and pray to God that more people like you are being heard and appreciated so that Pakistan emerges from the clutches of terrorism. This situation would be good for Pakistan, India, US and everyone in this world.
Thanks
I think the option is quite clear. It should neither be Obama's nor Osama's. Pakistan, if it has to survive and grow, will have be of the Pakistani people, most admirably that of the poor.
Can't agree more. This is a wonderful article, a real eye opener. Thank you Murtaza Razvi. Can this be translated to Urdu and published in some Urdu newspapers too?
Very well written. One of the best opinions coming out from Pakistan after the killing of OBL.
A brilliant article! The best bit is all the comments being given against the article are actually proving the point stated in it!!
I fully agree with you
The whole world is bent on shifting the blame onto Pakistan, which has been the largest victim of terrorism at home, since the so-called 'War on Terror' was launched. The world needs to ask the most important question of the lhe mighty US intelligency networks, why 9/11 even occured on their watch? And why weremn't any US figher jets were scrambled to intercept the hijacked airliners over US airspace that day? For 20 minutes four passenger jets were used as missiles on four different targets, but not a single airforce jet was able to detect or intercept them? Why did the CIA and FBI failed that day, when all the alleged hijackers were present on US soil for weeks before 9/11 plan was executed? I've yet to hear an acceptable explanation of this debacle!
9/11 is a history and probably America was taken by surprise…..No one can do this again to America…..They have learnt a bitter lesson…..but have learnt it well…..but in Pakistan..it happens every day and no lessons learnt…..seems by lessons are ignored by choice….awam has no say in running law of the land and rulers shelter the culprits…..how then you can expect improvement……