Tentacles of terrorism

A dismal picture of the extent of terrorism in Pakistan emerges from the revelations made during the last few days. While President Pervez Musharraf has named a Libyan Al Qaeda agent as being responsible for the attempts on his life, the information minister's disclosures are chilling.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad announced the arrest of five terrorists, including some foreigners, and revealed the sinister plans they had.

Their aim was to hit the parliament house, the Presidency, Prime Minister's House, GHQ, the American embassy and other sensitive installations. More startling was the timing of the planned terror acts, for all these targets were to be blown up or attacked on the eve of Independence Day.

It is strange indeed that Al Qaeda, which claims to be fighting for "Islamic causes", should be so callous about spilling innocent blood. But then this was not the first time that they would have done so.

Barring the Madrid bomb blasts in March, all acts of terror by Al Qaeda since 9/11 have been carried out in Muslim countries - Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. For us Pakistanis, the grim question to answer is: why have things come to such a pass that this country has become a haven for terrorists?

It goes without saying that our governments have made horrible mistakes in the realm of foreign policy, more so when it comes to Afghanistan. It was we who agreed to let America launch a 'jihad' against the Soviet Union, and allowed it to fund and arm Pakistani volunteers.

In 1989, the Soviets withdrew, but the after-effects of that 'jihad' have continued till this day. Many religious parties, which are now in the forefront of the 'jihad' against America, were then willing tools in CIA's hands.

They turned the madressahs into a breeding ground for religious militants. The result was that even after the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan, the madressah boys - the Taliban - became a factor not only in Afghan but also in Pakistani politics.

They captured Afghanistan after a protracted civil war, and in Pakistan itself they became a state within a state. They ran their own foreign policy parallel to Islamabad's, freely operated across the Durand Line, and defied government authority.

Worse, many members of the Islamic brigade that fought the Soviets stayed on in Pakistan and became part of the Taliban. The Taliban also provided refuge to Osama bin Laden and his supporters and let their country become a staging post for terrorist operations world wide.

In all this, the Taliban enjoyed unqualified support from Inter-Services Intelligence. The reversal of Islamabad's policy after 9/11 has been a mixed blessing. While the positive part of it was that Pakistan was able to correct its Afghan policy, its negative effects are before us: death and destruction caused by Al Qaeda.

Pakistan must pursue the war on terror with greater determination. It is by far the biggest threat to the country's security and stability. The intelligence services have met with success recently in arresting some high-profile targets. This should continue.

Side by side, the government must also explore the political means of eliminating terror. Here one must pay attention to Maulana Fazlur Rahman's offer to help in the matter.

The leader of the opposition said he could sort out the problem concerning foreigners suspected of involvement in acts of terrorism. One hopes the government will consider this possibility seriously.

Turmoil in Bangladesh

The repercussions for Bangladesh of Saturday's tragic grenade attack in Dhaka in which 17 people died at a rally addressed by opposition leader Sheikh Hasina have been close to incendiary.

The incident has further widened the polarization that exists between the ruling Bangladesh National Party and the opposition Awami League (whose leaders have been feuding for several years now), with the post-attack train of events suggesting that things might not be getting better any time soon.

On Sunday, supporters of the Awami League ransacked a railway station and set fire to a train. Around 50 people were injured in clashes throughout the country and security personnel have been put on a state of high alert.

The Awami League has already rejected the government's establishment of a judicial inquiry, indicating that only an "international" probe would be acceptable to it. In fact, Sheikh Hasina, who escaped with minor injuries, has accused the government of being involved in the attack saying that she was the intended target.

The acrimony between the government and the League is running so high that a request from Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to meet the opposition leader to express condolences has been turned down. More protests are planned for the rest of the week, including a two-day shutdown beginning on Tuesday.

Unless some initiative is taken to defuse the tension, things could go from bad to worse, and that too, just when the country is beginning to recover from weeks of widespread and severe flooding.

Though the bombing was most tragic and unfortunate, the last thing that Bangladesh needs at the moment is a series of protests and shutdowns. Countless strikes have been staged over the years, fuelled primarily by the intense antagonism BNP and the Awami League have for each other.

All this has to end in the country's own interest, so that its people have an opportunity to progress economically without being hamstrung by chronic political instability and the unrest it causes.

The Awami League and its supporters have every reason to feel aggrieved but they should keep their protests peaceful, having in mind the larger political and economic interests of the country.

Pindi uplift

Rawalpindi city is being given a face lift. At the ground-breaking ceremony of the Committee Chowk underpass recently, the Punjab chief minister announced a decision to construct three more underpasses in the city as well as a university and a fine arts college there.

The main Murree Road in the city was widened a few years ago, and, hopefully, the underpasses at Committee Chowk, Asghar Mall Chowk, Chandani Chowk and Sixth Road Chowk, together with the redesigning of Marir Chowk, will help improve the flow of traffic further.

The authorities need to ensure that the closure of Murree Road for the above constructions is kept to a minimum in order not to cause too much inconvenience to commuters.

The proposed setting up of a new university and a fine arts college will complement the existing tertiary institutions in the city, like the Fatima Jinnah Women's University, University of Arid Agriculture and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), providing the youth in the district and nearby areas with more choices to pursue their higher studies.

The Government Commerce College in Rawalpindi has also recently been upgraded to postgraduate level. However, as the federal information minister has pointed out health services in Rawalpindi badly need to be given a boost by the Punjab government as well.

Not only are new hospitals needed to cope with patients from within Rawalpindi city and the surrounding regions, but the major existing hospitals - Rawalpindi General Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital - are in dire need of upgrading. In addition, the provincial government also needs to look into overall improvement of the water supply for the residents of Rawalpindi city.