Pakistan Forum is an Independent Open Forum to Discuss Political, Economic and Social Issues
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced yesterday and accepted the responsibility for the Karachi suicide bombing that killed 43 people and left more than 80 injured on December 28, 2009 Reuters reported.
A TTP commander said more attacks will be launched in the next 10 days.
You have already heard the devastating news of two suicide bomb attacks in Islamic University of Islamabad today. So far 4 dead and 25 are injured.
After this incident, all the schools, colleges and universities in the Province of Punjab, Sind and NWFP have been closed. May be the institutions are also closed in Baluchistan but I have not seen the news tape about that. So the Government is so helpless or afraid of these Islamic or religious extremists that they have closed all the educational institutions. Extremists have shown their ability to chose their target and attack at their will.
Government has shown their helplessness and have surrendered to the extremists. We as citizens of this country want protection which present Government has failed to provide us. This was government’s responsibility to track the perpetrators and take necessary action. We have only heard very feeble voice of Asif Ali Zardari and Yousaf Raza Gilani in condemnation. Condemnation does not protect our lives.
During the last couple of weeks you know these extremists commonly known as Taliban or what ever you call them they have attacked first World Food Program’s offices in Islamabad, CIA offices in Lahore then in Peshawar. All these attacks have been very devastating. Quite a number of innocent people have died.
Now the million dollar question is where is our Government to protect the people of Pakistan.
It seems Talibans are ruling this country
Our President asked the international community to give him one hundred billion dollars to fight extremism otherwise he can not do anything. Peoples of Pakistan voted to Pakistan Peoples Party to run the country. It had nothing to do with international community to give one hundred billion dollars.
Do the present government knows what to do?
Do they have any action plan?
Unfortunately answer to these questions is NO.
Government is telling us that they have started military action in South Waziristan and that will bring peace to the country. Is it true?
No!
They also told us that Baitullah Mehsud has been killed so now there is going to peace every where. That turned out to be mirage.
We ran a survey at Pakistan Forum about the ability of present government to solve the problems facing Pakistan. We will run the results of that survey tomorrow.
What do think about the present situation in Pakistan? Speak up and write in the comments.
Rehman Malik, Interior Minister of Pakistan said Osama Bin Laden and other top Al Qaeda leaders are currently hiding in Afghanistan most probably in the Kunar area. He further said that the Pakistan military must have found him and his colleagues during its military operations if he was there in Pakistan. This news is released by Press Trust of India.
Great! Clinton to Bush to Mushraff to Obama all said the same thing with a little variation of the words. So what is new he is telling us. If he knows with that much confidence that Bin Laden is in Kunar why don’t he tell his US friends and collect the bounty.
Another question to Rehman Malik is why you could not find Baitullah Mehsood and Sufi Mohammad during your operation If you think your military operations were that effective.
Do you have any intention to find and catch Baitullah Mehsood and Sufi Mohammad? Apparently not.
Why he is going there?
What he is going to get there?
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is going to the US
to seek political support. During this visit, the US Administration is going to
deliver some key policy messages to him.
America’s main concern is inability of Pakistan’s government
to curtail terrorist activities in the border areas with Afghanistan and
Taliban’s use of tribal areas as safe heaven.
While Pervez Musharaf’s policies were very clear on this
issue, the new government has not been able to devise a coherent policy to deal
with this issue. Americans are going to tell Mr. Gilani about their dissatisfaction in stern words. In fact, they have already told Pakistan on many occasions.
Pakistani diplomatic sources are saying that Americans have
told them that Pervez Musharraf issue will not be discussed. Pakistanis are giving
the impression, as if America is going to unload Musharraf. I believe these types of statements are for local consumption. My interpretation is that America is fed up with Sharif and Zardari’s anti-Musharraf politics. America is going to
tell Zardari and Sharif that America means business.
Pakistan government has been lobbying for some time to
persuade Washington to drop its support for Musharraf. Mr. Hussain Haqani has been instrumental in these efforts since his only credentials for being Pakistan’s Ambassador in the US are that he is staunch anti-Musharraf.
America was instrumental in drafting the NRO (National
Reconciliation Ordinance 2007) and bringing Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif back into the mainstream politics. Probably America was thinking that way Pakistan would have a government that will be more credible and stable. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way and Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have become now a
liability. Both had their own personal agendas so there was no national consensus on the real issues facing Pakistan, hence no effective government and no stability. In fact, Pakistan has become more unstable then it was before the election.
To make its previous decision work America is going to throw its full weight behind the present government. That would be the carrot but at a price. Top US military, intelligence and government leaders in Bush Administration have already shown their annoyance and dissatisfaction on the failure of Pakistan to deal with Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in FATA and border areas with Afghanistan. Present government has been doing a lot of propaganda on their peace talks with Taliban and tribal leaders in FATA area giving the impression that these efforts are becoming successful. America wants some decisive action, and favors military force. America will give some political space and time may be six months to a year to this new government to be effective, try his peace talk option and show some results. Bush is under pressure at home to show some success in fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. American military leaders have convinced Bush Administration that Pakistan is not doing enough to stop Taliban and Al Qaeda’s fighters attacking from Pakistani areas. Hence, pressure on Mr. Gilani.
To show their support, America is going to offer besides political support economic and military aid during Prime Minister’s visit.
America is not interested in the domestic affairs of Pakistan like reinstatement of judges which is life and death issue for Nawaz Sharif and to some extent Asif Zardari, but would like to see a government who have control over the domestic problems including economy, domestic terrorism and other political issues.
By: NAHAL TOOSI, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jul 24, 10:50 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – The Taliban have created a sophisticated media network to undermine support for the Afghan government, sending threats by text message and spreading the militia’s views through songs available as ring tones, according to a report released Thursday.
The International Crisis Group report comes as the Islamist militia that was ousted from power in Afghanistan by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion is making a violent comeback, particularly in the country’s south and east.
The Taliban’s propaganda exploits civilian killings by foreign forces and corruption in the U.S.-backed government to add to Afghans’ disillusionment about their lives, according to the report by the Brussels, Belgium-based group. It said the Afghan government and its foreign allies should respond more quickly to their mistakes and highlight the Taliban’s atrocities.
Many of the messages that have been distributed — apparently not always directly produced by the Taliban — come in the form of songs, religious chants and poetry that appeal to Afghan nationalism and Islamic pride.
Some of the tunes are available as ring tones for phones, and cassettes include songs such as “Let me go to jihad,” the report said. Some people reported that they kept the cassettes as a form of protection in case they were stopped by Taliban.
One poem — “Death is a gift,” on Al Emarah — included the phrase, “I will not kiss the hand of Laura Bush.”
The Taliban movement also has a Web site, Al Emarah, or The Emirate, which has various domain names due to attempts to block it. The Taliban also publish pamphlets and magazines, and their communications come in multiple languages including English. DVDs and audio cassettes also are used.
Because illiteracy is widespread in Afghanistan, and many Afghans have little to no access to the Internet or television, the Taliban also use traditional means of communication to spread their message. They often send shabnamahs — fliers that are often distributed at night in an area. Often the letters threaten people who work with international forces or the government, the report said.
The report also said that Taliban media play up civilian casualties caused by foreign forces but deny involvement in most bombings that kill a large number of ordinary Afghans. Because of the poor security situation, independent journalists often have a difficult time verifying claims of either side.
Obeidullah Jan, a Barekzai tribal leader from Dand district in Kandahar province, said the Taliban had tremendous influence on local media and that journalists in the area often reported their claims. But even if the Taliban had no media outreach, their impact — from suicide attacks to gunbattles — is hard to miss, he said.
“Whether they use the media or not, the people are witnessing their activities,” Jan said.
The media messages at times underscore the loose, disorganized nature of the militancy.
The report notes that the Taliban as well as the Hezb-i-Islami network of warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar each claimed credit for a suicide attack in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in November 2007.
Later that year, the Taliban Web site announced the dismissal of a Taliban commander, but the commander’s spokesman rejected it, telling reporters it was a “conspiracy by some elements within the Taliban movement,” the report said.
Associated Press Writer Noor Khan contributed to this report.
