The Troubles in Pakistan and the Spill-over Effect
Ismail Imadudeen
April 17, 2009
It is so depressing, and at the same time extremely alarming, to see a big nation like Pakistan on the brinks confronting one of the most aggressive and determined radical and terrorist groups in the world. I now do not think that there could be anyway to make a distinction between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups; it would be very simplifying to think that there is no coordination between the two groups in a way or another. What is so alarming in Pakistan is that the government seems to be so weak in confronting the fundamentalist groups in the Swat Valley to the extent of permitting them impose their own understanding of Sharia Law on people there, in the absence of the government control and dominion! Those fundamentalists are so good at creating the culture of fear and surrender among the civilian population that drives them nuts against the coalition troops and against the central government it self as well. This culture of fear would widen the circle of individuals and groups who would be joining those fundamentalists willingly, so as get power, influence and money or unwillingly, so as to avoid their backlashes and torture, which could lead to a bitter defeat to the coalition (and the world in general) against those terrorist groups.
Well, this could also have its spill over effect in some other parts in Pakistan, and would inspire other groups in some other places in the world, especially in Afghanistan, which could lead to stronger attacks on civil, commercial and military targets that may outweigh the attacks of 9/11 many times. And it could be just a matter of time before those groups get hold of the most terrifying weapon, i.e. the nuclear weapons, which might lead to disastrous and dire consequences.
Given the possibility of a likely victory of the radical Indian Party the BJP in the Indian elections, and given the soaring tensions between Pakistan and India caused by the terrorist attacks that occur now and then, the threat of a possible nuclear conflict is not far from happening. This nuclear war wouldn't only cause the death of tens of millions of people, but also would lead to a global environmental catastrophe that might require a century to heal!!!
One might ask for the way out of this, well, the only obvious answer is the intelligence; I believe that what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan is simply because of either intelligence failure from the CIA and other elements or possible sympathy from some Pakistani intelligence elements with those radical groups, probably based on religious and tribal back grounds, or let me say both of them. I do not understand how can TV reporters and other journalists get to the Taliban and Al Qaeda strong holds, interview them in a relaxed environment and get their actions aired while intelligence elements find it so difficult to find where they are!!!
Another thing here is that I think that the ex president of Pakistan, General Musharaf could have proved to be very important at this crucial time, which means that he was supposed to have stronger and more persistent backing from the USA and the West than what they had already offered. The US and the West pressurized the man for some idiotic, unrealistic calls for democracy; for God sake I would like to know: when will the USA and the West understand that some people and some countries can not be living the way the West is living? I mean: what democracy are you talking about with radicals, terrorists and tribal people? I do not want this to be mixed with calls for suppression, but I would like to say that there is a different way to govern and rule people with such mentality that takes into consideration the cultural and ideological dimensions. I want the "great" human right organizations in the West to tell me whether those radicals could have dared to do what they did with that poor girl in the Swat Valley if Musharaf was there in power? Hey, wake up!!!!!!!!!!
I do not call for a return of Musharaf on American tanks, that would be idiotic of course, but I hope if the West learns from those lessons and to stop messing up in the hot spots, as this proved to be very costly in terms of lives, money and strategy.
For the USA to succeed in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it must appreciate the cultural and ideological aspects for each group there; it must be understood that money is a major key player in getting many desperate, unemployed and extremely poor individuals into those radical groups, so economic improvement is very important. People want to find food on the table and want to have water, electricity, education, etc.
Build new residential areas for the destitute villagers; give monthly allowances that can guarantee the very basic needs, subsidize agricultural products, provide villagers with new equipment, train them, buy their products and market them, encourage small, handicraft and homemade products by providing equipment and training. One might ask: how much would that cost? And I would answer: a fraction of what is being already spent on this ineffective war on terror. So, start from the bottom, from the poorest areas, then go up in the societal hierarchy.
When talking about education, encourage the introduction of Western education like the American or British education systems, with strong stress on religion and the local language (modernize with respect to local culture). A tiny Muslim country named the "Maldives" proved to be very successful in blending Western education with Islamic and cultural studies; you can study their experience; it will give an insight. You can also encourage a new type of religious schools here in Egypt, which are affiliated to Al Azhar, the highest religious institution in Egypt and the Middle East, that teach Islamic studies with strong stress on modern science and foreign languages. It has to be noted that people in the Islamic countries feel crazy when they hear about revising and modernizing Islamic studies, and, here I would like to emphasize the fact that Islamic scholars have been, over centuries, practicing their studies and researches based on objective, logistic and comparative basis providing a room for the opinion and the counter opinion, so I do not think that there is any thing to revise except the "selective" materials on radical schools that reflect just one of many opinions that were omitted. People should better know that studying Islam has to be from the broad perspective, and the material taught should be catering for all the opinions regarding a particular verse in Quran or Prophet Mohamed's teachings. And what is believed to be controversial, from pure Islamic view point, has to be highlighted in the materials as “controversial” or still “under inspection” or “subject to further studies.” Here only I can say that Islamic studies will make Muslims real Muslims and even would enable them contribute positively to the human civilization, as they used to do centuries ago.
Finally, I hope if the US and the NATO appreciate the horrible impact of the civilian casualties they cause every now and then in Afghanistan and Pakistan; again it is a huge intelligence failure. But, anyway, if they happen, I think that providing the due apology along with a "generous" monetary compensation could, to some extent, lessen the huge negative effect of such casualties. In fact, I would say that Taliban has gained a huge ground in both Pakistan and Afghanistan partly because of those incidents.
I would like to end this article by assuring that the war on terror is a very long, strategic one; it might take about ten to fifteen years from now for some of the ideas I presented up to work, but it is worth it; in human history, that time is nothing, and when knowing that the world will be a better place, it will give more inspiration.
Well, this could also have its spill over effect in some other parts in Pakistan, and would inspire other groups in some other places in the world, especially in Afghanistan, which could lead to stronger attacks on civil, commercial and military targets that may outweigh the attacks of 9/11 many times. And it could be just a matter of time before those groups get hold of the most terrifying weapon, i.e. the nuclear weapons, which might lead to disastrous and dire consequences.
Given the possibility of a likely victory of the radical Indian Party the BJP in the Indian elections, and given the soaring tensions between Pakistan and India caused by the terrorist attacks that occur now and then, the threat of a possible nuclear conflict is not far from happening. This nuclear war wouldn't only cause the death of tens of millions of people, but also would lead to a global environmental catastrophe that might require a century to heal!!!
One might ask for the way out of this, well, the only obvious answer is the intelligence; I believe that what is happening in Pakistan and Afghanistan is simply because of either intelligence failure from the CIA and other elements or possible sympathy from some Pakistani intelligence elements with those radical groups, probably based on religious and tribal back grounds, or let me say both of them. I do not understand how can TV reporters and other journalists get to the Taliban and Al Qaeda strong holds, interview them in a relaxed environment and get their actions aired while intelligence elements find it so difficult to find where they are!!!
Another thing here is that I think that the ex president of Pakistan, General Musharaf could have proved to be very important at this crucial time, which means that he was supposed to have stronger and more persistent backing from the USA and the West than what they had already offered. The US and the West pressurized the man for some idiotic, unrealistic calls for democracy; for God sake I would like to know: when will the USA and the West understand that some people and some countries can not be living the way the West is living? I mean: what democracy are you talking about with radicals, terrorists and tribal people? I do not want this to be mixed with calls for suppression, but I would like to say that there is a different way to govern and rule people with such mentality that takes into consideration the cultural and ideological dimensions. I want the "great" human right organizations in the West to tell me whether those radicals could have dared to do what they did with that poor girl in the Swat Valley if Musharaf was there in power? Hey, wake up!!!!!!!!!!
I do not call for a return of Musharaf on American tanks, that would be idiotic of course, but I hope if the West learns from those lessons and to stop messing up in the hot spots, as this proved to be very costly in terms of lives, money and strategy.
For the USA to succeed in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it must appreciate the cultural and ideological aspects for each group there; it must be understood that money is a major key player in getting many desperate, unemployed and extremely poor individuals into those radical groups, so economic improvement is very important. People want to find food on the table and want to have water, electricity, education, etc.
Build new residential areas for the destitute villagers; give monthly allowances that can guarantee the very basic needs, subsidize agricultural products, provide villagers with new equipment, train them, buy their products and market them, encourage small, handicraft and homemade products by providing equipment and training. One might ask: how much would that cost? And I would answer: a fraction of what is being already spent on this ineffective war on terror. So, start from the bottom, from the poorest areas, then go up in the societal hierarchy.
When talking about education, encourage the introduction of Western education like the American or British education systems, with strong stress on religion and the local language (modernize with respect to local culture). A tiny Muslim country named the "Maldives" proved to be very successful in blending Western education with Islamic and cultural studies; you can study their experience; it will give an insight. You can also encourage a new type of religious schools here in Egypt, which are affiliated to Al Azhar, the highest religious institution in Egypt and the Middle East, that teach Islamic studies with strong stress on modern science and foreign languages. It has to be noted that people in the Islamic countries feel crazy when they hear about revising and modernizing Islamic studies, and, here I would like to emphasize the fact that Islamic scholars have been, over centuries, practicing their studies and researches based on objective, logistic and comparative basis providing a room for the opinion and the counter opinion, so I do not think that there is any thing to revise except the "selective" materials on radical schools that reflect just one of many opinions that were omitted. People should better know that studying Islam has to be from the broad perspective, and the material taught should be catering for all the opinions regarding a particular verse in Quran or Prophet Mohamed's teachings. And what is believed to be controversial, from pure Islamic view point, has to be highlighted in the materials as “controversial” or still “under inspection” or “subject to further studies.” Here only I can say that Islamic studies will make Muslims real Muslims and even would enable them contribute positively to the human civilization, as they used to do centuries ago.
Finally, I hope if the US and the NATO appreciate the horrible impact of the civilian casualties they cause every now and then in Afghanistan and Pakistan; again it is a huge intelligence failure. But, anyway, if they happen, I think that providing the due apology along with a "generous" monetary compensation could, to some extent, lessen the huge negative effect of such casualties. In fact, I would say that Taliban has gained a huge ground in both Pakistan and Afghanistan partly because of those incidents.
I would like to end this article by assuring that the war on terror is a very long, strategic one; it might take about ten to fifteen years from now for some of the ideas I presented up to work, but it is worth it; in human history, that time is nothing, and when knowing that the world will be a better place, it will give more inspiration.