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| January 04, 2008 | Friday | Zilhaj 24, 1428 |
Afghanistan’s drug war
Hike in gas price
Islam: a religion of peace
OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press
ISLAM is a religion of peace and solidarity. It negates all ideas and acts pertaining to gangsterism, cheating, dishonesty, backbiting, foul language, grudge, arrogance, personal enmity, murder and destruction.
PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf’s decision to seek Scotland Yard’s help in investigating Ms Bhutto’s assassination is welcome at a time when the government led by him faces serious credibility problems on the issue. For this it has only itself to blame given the irresponsible theories put forth by the official spokesman, Javed Cheema, as to the cause of Ms Bhutto’s death hours after she was killed in cold blood — as captured on camera. Even earlier, the government had turned down the PPP’s previous request for the Yard to probe the attempt on her life in Karachi on Oct 18. Had this been done, the PPP believes, her assassination might well have been prevented. As for the ‘crime scene’ near Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, most clues which might have led to the unveiling of the perpetrators behind the crime were hurriedly washed away. All this goes to expose a complete lack of responsibility with which several government agencies have acted in the immediate aftermath of the greatest tragedy in decades to have struck the country. There is also some justification in the PPP’s claim that it is on record as having protested to the government for the lack of security cover provided to Ms Bhutto, earlier as well as on that fatal day. How come, for instance, the route Ms Bhutto took after addressing the public meeting had not been combed by the security personnel that the government said it had deployed there? These are serious questions that will continue to hang over the probe, regardless of the British crime investigation agency’s involvement in the matter.
While he did well to respond to the concerns about the credibility of the probe, the president did not take note of some other sensitivities in his televised speech to still a largely aggrieved nation on Wednesday night. President Musharraf’s emphasis on the violence witnessed in Sindh in the aftermath of Ms Bhutto’s assassination came as quite odd, especially since some of his allies rather callously found an ethnic angle to it. The damage caused to the economic infrastructure may be calculated in monetary terms, and is thus reversible. But the hurt caused to Ms Bhutto’s supporters by the murder of their leader who was the indisputable symbol of the federation will remain incalculable. With the passage of time her absence from the political scene will be felt ever so acutely, for the values she symbolised, namely, democratic and secular politics. These remain the only antidote against extremism and the demon of violence it unleashes. The process must continue and elections held on Feb 18. Equally important, the polls must also be seen to be free, fair and transparent by all in every way; any deviation taken will only lead to a dead end.
OPIUM production in Afghanistan shows no signs of declining. In fact, according to Gen Dan McNeill, who heads Nato’s International Security Assistance Force, the present year will see a surge in poppy cultivation. For foreign forces in Afghanistan, this means that the nexus between the narcotics trade and militant activity will be further strengthened, forcing an ‘under-resourced’ Nato to gear up for an even tougher fight against Taliban elements. Indeed, last year’s UN survey on opium cultivation in Afghanistan noted that the link between narcotics and poverty had been considerably weakened. The drug trade now finances arms for the extremists, making it difficult for Afghan and foreign forces to crush the insurgency. Statistics bear out the connection between opium smuggling and militancy. Poppy cultivation has been largely curtailed in the comparatively peaceful but poverty-stricken north and north-central region (although the scourge of drug trafficking remains). In contrast, the richer, fertile southern provinces are home to both Taliban violence and large-scale poppy growing. This has an adverse impact on bordering states. For instance, Pakistan which had previously eliminated poppy cultivation has witnessed a resurgence in recent times along its frontier with Afghanistan. It remains a major transit point for trafficking that takes opiates to western markets.
No doubt, the implementation of an active joint strategy by the Afghan government and neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Iran and the Central Asian states will go far in containing the drug trade. In Pakistan’s case, this would not only mean guarding its border against drug smugglers but also cracking down on militant elements in the area with full force. However, the bulk of the responsibility lies with the Karzai government that has so far been unable to extend its authority much beyond Kabul. This is not surprising when one considers that the law-enforcement agencies contain several officials who are involved in the drug trade or who, upon receiving bribes, turn a blind eye to the induction of security personnel seeking to enrich themselves through trafficking. Also, the justice system is weak and allows drug lords to get away while international aid to combat the drug problem is not properly disbursed. Finally, it is in the interest of the international community to root out Afghanistan’s drug scourge. It can only help achieve this aim if it delivers on its pledges for funds for construction and development that would provide Afghans with several employment opportunities and lessen their dependence on the drug trade.
THE government’s decision to raise the price of natural gas has serious implications for the people and all sectors of the economy. The worst hit will be the industrial users who have a 5.9 per cent hike to live with. This will result in a further blow to the already hobbling textile industry that has more than a few challenges to tackle and has seen the closure of a number of units for one reason or the other in recent times. Another one that will have to bear the force of the government decision will be the cement industry that had only recently started eyeing international markets in India and North Africa, among other regions, to export its commodity. All the various allied sectors and services that go with these two industries will naturally have a fate no different.
Besides, the timing of the escalation could not have been worse. The country is still trying to come out of the chaos that was generated by the government of Shaukat Aziz in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector when it had unnecessarily linked the local prices with the international market. The caretaker set-up mercifully reversed the decision early last month, but the market was yet to stabilise itself when the news came of the latest price hike. Gas rates in Pakistan are linked with international oil prices which have gone up of late and the government may have a technical reason behind its decision, but with the common man already burdened with inflationary trends that continue to rule the fate of even the most essential of items, it would have been more prudent to provide him with some cushion that has now been denied to him. Though by not touching the domestic consumer, the government has tried to give the impression of being soft on the masses, the 10 per cent hike in the prices of CNG, which has now become the basic transportation fuel in the country and of which Pakistan is one of the major users in the world, will lead to an inevitable domino effect that will crush all and sundry alike.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) migrated to Medina after patiently enduring the extreme conditions and hostilities in Makkah for 13 years. He performed a noble task of preaching the Message of Allah and finally escaped the torturous enclaves of the non-believers. He laid the foundation of the first ever Islamic state and kept this state clean of all the social and other ills. A society was formed which was based on truth, principles, peace and high moral values. This Islamic state was completely run under the laws of Allah. Very soon the world witnessed that the nomads of Arabia, who lived the lives full of murder, adultery, theft and craftiness, were transformed into persons living a life of exemplary morals and values.
There was a lot of emphasis on education during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as well as during the times of the subsequent four Caliphs of Islam. This is the reason that at the time when the West was completely ignorant and under-developed, the Islamic world was the centre of learning, culture and education. The Muslim way of life was based on brotherhood, love, affection, honesty and compassion. All the above traits come into existence due to the presence of Islam and its teachings.
It is true that out of all the scriptures ever sent to the world, the Holy Quran is the only Book which still exists in its original and unadulterated form while all the others have lost their originality and consequently their followers also went astray. Such people formed their own interpretations from those books and fell into adopting social ills in their daily lives.
It is quite astonishing to see how conveniently and instantly a person’s individual act of terror is linked with Islam. This is a conspiracy and a defamation tactic against Islam. Isn’t it a fact that the Islamic schools are much more ancient than the so-called incidents of terrorism during the present times? One will never find any acts of terror in entire history of the Islamic institutions and, therefore, it is important to examine the causes.
The subcontinent always had a large number of Islamic schools and hundreds of thousands of Muslim scholars have been offering religious services both within their countries and abroad. It is an open secret that the intelligence agencies constantly monitor the activities of the Islamic schools and the students within such schools. Neither a single known terrorist has ever been arrested from any famous Islamic institution nor has any such institution ever been reported against.
As we look into the list of names of the well-known terrorists, we will find that not a single one of them graduated from any Islamic school. Therefore, it is hard to accept that the Islamic schools are the training camps or the breeding grounds of the terrorists. Similarly, all the rest of the big names in terrorism, are graduates of the conventional western universities. Till today, it was generally believed that poverty, illiteracy, economic disparity and violence are the causes of terrorism. However, the current facts have shown that terrorism is directly proportional to the wealth in the family. In other words, the richer the family of a person, greater are the chances of his becoming a high-profile terrorist.
One more quite visible fact is that leading terrorists are also quite highly educated and possess very high skills. Whether it is the attack on the World Trade Centre, any other act of terror or the editing of the Al Qaeda audio-video tapes on the internet, all are demonstrations of excellent professional expertise. The London police department has reported about the existence of a gang that wants to play havoc with the western world in the name of the entire world.
This gang consists of 45 doctors who are graduates of various prestigious western universities. These doctors are running their network through the internet. An ex-officer of the CIA and an expert on foreign policies, Mark Sagaman, has pointed out in his recent report that at least 63% of all the people involved in the acts of terrorism, are college graduates. Out of these 75% are those who also have professional and post-graduate degrees. Only 13% of such individuals were less educated or uneducated and they did not normally belong to any religious school.
It is quite evident that a person from a poor family cannot even dream of entering into a professional or prestigious institution of higher education. For the poor kids, these Islamic schools are the only option where boarding, food and education are free. Here they learn the religion and get some worldly education as well.
Majority of these students remain within the bounds of their school and are mostly unaware of the events of the outer world. They even hesitate to go to the railway stations of the city and prefer travelling by the bus. These students are very uncomfortable in dealing with the police or going to the local police stations. Under these circumstances it is very unfair to label such shy students of the Islamic schools with terrorism. This is utter discrimination and narrow mindedness.
The terror sponsoring organisations also keep on improvising their operations to better tackle the changing western policies. This is the reason that these terror sponsoring organisations hire doctors, engineers, scientists and other technical experts rather than the students from ordinary Islamic schools.
The rate at which the educated people in the West are converting to Islam, it has become a major source of concern for the West. It is also true that the way the highly skilled and professional Muslims are progressing, the Islamic schools are not keeping up with that pace.
The Muslims who are living in the West are mainly linked with some kind of a professional career and are more fervent Muslims. In Britain, 30 per cent of the doctors are from the Asian Muslim countries. With the rise in the number of Muslims in the western world, their governments are conspiring against Islam.
Those, who label Islam as a religion of terror or declare the Islamic schools as the breeding ground for terrorism, will soon be caught up with the wrath of Allah and will be sorry for their actions. Islam brings the message of peace and stands for unity.
Pukhtoons blamed for killing
THREE questions were instantly raised as soon as Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, was assassinated in Rawalpindi on Dec 27, 2007 … What was the immediate cause of her death? Who are responsible for her assassination? Why was she assassinated?
The spokesperson for Pakistan’s interior ministry, Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema, in his first press conference after the assassination of Ms Bhutto said that she was neither killed in the blast nor was she hit by a bullet. He also held the Taliban and Al Qaeda, especially Baitullah Mehsud, responsible for Bhutto’s assassination. The spokesperson later argued that Ms Bhutto was not killed in Peshawar because the terrorists wanted to drive home the point that they could strike anywhere in Pakistan. Debunking his statements, several media outlets in Pakistan have since then analysed the utterances of the spokesperson. Baitullah Mehsud’s spokesman has categorically denied responsibility for the assassination.
What is interesting in this whole episode is that responsibility has been placed on the Pukhtoons. The statements of Brig Cheema implicitly indicate that the Mehsud tribe is to be obliterated because it is responsible for this heinous crime. Brig Cheema’s reference to Peshawar with respect to Ms Bhutto’s assassination also suggests that terrorists operate from Peshawar and Fata, thereby providing justification for a grand operation against the people [living in these areas].
So it is the Pukhtoons who are said to be responsible for the assassination of Ms Bhutto. Of all the other calamities now befalling the Pukhtoons, the present tragedy is the most destructive. Pinning the responsibility for Ms Bhutto’s assassination on Pukhtoon shoulders clearly indicates that most of the troubles faced by Pukhtoons are caused by external factors. — (Jan 1)
The new PPP chairman
THE eldest son of late Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, was elected as the new chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party in a meeting of the PPP’s central executive committee held in Naudero, Sindh, and in accordance with the will of the late Benazir Bhutto. Bilawal read out Ms Bhutto’s will in the meeting and Jehangir Badar solicited the opinion of the members of the central executive committee. All members agreed to accept Bilawal as the new chairman while his father, Asif Zardari, would be the co-chairman of the party.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was born in 1988. He received his early education at Rashid School, Dubai. He intends to get his higher education in England and the US.
The services rendered by the late Ms Bhutto for Pakistan form an unforgettable chapter in the history of our country. Courage, bravery and boldness were the most prominent traits of Ms Bhutto’s personality.
Her return to the country despite all the threats to her life is irrefutable proof of her love for her land. She expressed this love during her public meeting in Peshawar a day before her assassination.
She said “I will live and die for my people” and so it was proven when she took her last breath among the masses. She wanted to raise the living standard of the common people. May her soul rest in peace.
The people of Pakistan have great expectations from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. One might hope that Bilawal will follow in the footsteps of his mother in serving the people of Pakistan and try to avoid confrontationist politics.
Bilawal is expected to struggle for the development of a political culture that will benefit the people of Pakistan. — (Dec 31)
—Selected and translated by Khadim Husain.