Winning the hearts and minds of Pakistan’s displaced

Internally displaced people, fleeing a military offensive in the Swat valley, congregate in a camp run by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Swabi district, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad May 26, 2009. U.S.-based Human rights Watch said Tuesday that hundreds of thousands of Pakistani civilians trapped by an offensive against the Taliban in Swat were facing a humanitarian catastrophe. (Faisal Mahmood/Reuters)

Opinion: The military must be made to understand the importance of protecting non-combatants.

By Samina Ahmed – Special to GlobalPost
Published: May 26, 2009 15:07 ET
Updated: May 26, 2009 19:50 ET

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Winning hearts and minds is decisive in any counter-insurgency operation. As hundreds of thousands of displaced persons flee fighting in Swat, Buner and Dir districts in Pakistan, this single truth should drive the response by the Pakistani state and the international community. In short, how those people are treated will decide if the insurgency-hit zones are saved or lost to the Taliban.

There is urgent need for international assistance. The numbers of displaced from these three areas of Malakand division, combined with others from the Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, now total over a million. The government’s resources are severely strained. Without assistance, the Islamist groups will fill the gap, hoping to radicalize the disaffected, particularly the youth. There is some evidence this is already happening.

Those fleeing the conflict zone have to find their own way to safety. In the absence of official support, private transport providers are fleecing them, while others, who are unable to find transport or cannot afford it, are walking long distances to safety. The most vulnerable among them – children and the elderly – are more likely to succumb to disease in overcrowded displacement camps. Food, clean water, health facilities and other support are all in short supply. U.N. agencies are working overtime but are in urgent need of support.

A large number of the displaced have chosen to live with host families, in rented accommodation or in officially provided shelters such as schools. What they need is cash, not food supplies. Emergency relief in the shape of cash vouchers has been effective in other humanitarian disasters, and while this kind of assistance should be monitored, of course, too much red tape could defeat the purpose of the exercise. Speed of delivery trumps other concerns at the moment.

Even more worrying, the military in Malakand is using heavy artillery, helicopter gunships and jet fighters, which will inevitably result in civilian casualties. Unfortunately, we do not know how many civilians have been killed because there is virtually no civilian oversight of the operation and no independent verification. No media are present, and communication links have been cut.

Still, we have enough information to know that non-combatants in the conflict zones are without power and have dwindling supplies of food and water. Hospitals are without staff or supplies.

It is absolutely essential that the military is made to understand the importance of protecting non-combatants. They must ensure humanitarian relief agencies are provided access, and they must guarantee basic services and supplies, particularly medical assistance, are delivered to the conflict zones. The media too must be given access and provided the security they need to operate in the areas where military operations are ongoing.

The military high command are already showing signs they would like to take over relief operations, but it is essential that humanitarian aid, as well as rehabilitation and reconstruction, are kept out of their hands. Civilians understand civilian needs far better than the military, and such efforts will also help to strengthen the legitimacy of civilian institutions and government in Pakistan’s still fragile democratic transition.

For its part, the elected government in Islamabad must also plan ahead from humanitarian relief to post-conflict development, and international donors should do the same. When the fighting stops, they must repair destroyed infrastructure, reconstruct schools and hospitals and rebuild homes for those returning. An economy that has been devastated by violence will also have to be rebuilt, and again, the sooner people feel that start to happen, the more resistant they will be to extremist overtures.

However, the state’s ability to provide security against the Taliban and other violent extremists will, in the coming months, be as important – perhaps even more so – than the delivery of basic services such as health and education. The people of Malakand division are understandably sKeptical of the military’s willingness and ability to deal decisively with the militant jihadis.

Past operations in Malakand and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas have been halted halfway and followed by peace deals that handed over entire swathes of the region to militant control. This time around, the military insists that the operation will not end until the militants are flushed out of Malakand.

But ousting them only to see them find sanctuary in other parts of Pakistan is not the answer. Instead, the Taliban should be held accountable in Pakistan’s courts for their brutal actions, including murder and rape. The government must publicly rescind the now moribund peace deal with the Taliban, which imposed Shariah on a population that had, in the 2008 elections, voted for secular democracy. It must also end, once and for all, the culture of impunity that has only empowered violent extremists at the cost of Pakistan’s moderate majority.

Samina Ahmed is South Asia Project Director of the International Crisis Group.

Our N-dilemma

Rabia Akhtar

Pakistan has always been criticised on nuclear proliferation. President Asif Ali Zardari spoke on the prospects of a “non-nuclear treaty” in South Asia. India proposed an “international convention for complete prohibition of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. President Obama, in his speech in Prague on April 5 vowed a renewed commitment to nuclear disarmament. There are those, who are applauding global initiatives and forgetting Pakistan’s contribution to initiatives on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament in South Asia.

Pakistan’s efforts in the field of peaceful civilian nuclear energy started with the creation of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in 1956. In 1957 it supported Ireland’s proposal for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The proposal was adopted by UN General Assembly in 1965. Following the creation of the IAEA in 1957, Pakistan voluntarily submitted its civilian nuclear facilities for international inspections in 1959. After having proposed the idea of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in South Asia in 1972, Pakistan floated a formal proposal for the establishment of the zone in 1974 after India conducted its first nuclear test. During the decade of 1960s leading up to the Indian PNE of 1974, Pakistan had been warning the international community of Indian diversion of nuclear fuel from the Canadian-supplied civilian nuclear reactor to India.

The Pakistani proposal, presented in the General Assembly in 1974, resulted in Resolution 3265, which endorsed the creation of the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in South Asia.

Pakistan has always pursued the idea of nuclear non-proliferation aggressively at the international and regional levels because it understood that solutions to its security dilemma could only be found in a region where India abandoned its ambitions of nuclear hegemony. Therefore, the goal of nuclear disarmament, which was global, and a regime of nuclear non-proliferation, which was universal, had little appeal for Pakistan as a state which was threatened by its immediate neighbour.

At the 11th anniversary of nuclearisation in South Asia, when India proudly recalls Rajiv Gandhi’s Plan of Action for “a world free of nuclear weapons”–at the heart of which was the commitment to eliminate all nuclear weapons in three stages by 2010 (as proposed by Rajiv Gandhi in 1988)–Pakistan would only want India to commit to a Strategic Restraint Regime in South Asia, to a Nuclear Risk Reduction Measures in South Asia, and to its commitment to letter and spirit and not through hedged “first strike” options as enshrined in its doctrine. It should also commit to “minimum” deterrence posture and to upholding its moratorium on nuclear testing. At the same time, it should commit to a ballistic missile defence free zone in South Asia. It is not a story of the past 11 years of nuclearisation, but of our entire history, which has been full of wars, conflicts, crises and misperceptions. India’s continuous refusal to accept Pakistan-led proposals and initiatives on non-proliferation, arms-control and disarmament at various international and regional forums has been sufficient to create the atmosphere of distrust between the two states. The international community should ask India to move away from its rhetorical position on disarmament and genuinely pursue Pakistan’s proposal on a strategic restraint regime for long-lasting strategic stability in South Asia.

The writer heads the department of defence and diplomatic studies at Fatima Jinnah Women’s University, Rawalpindi. Email: rabiakhter@gmail.com

Draconian laws, delete them

By Dr. Mookhi Amir Ali

Dr. Binayak Sen will now be out on bail but not without celebrating the second anniversary of his needless detention. He was detained under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Under these laws a person can be detained for flimsy reasons with no provision of bail. This is not the only law in our book which can be used by the government to harass a citizen who is inconvenient to them.

Dr Binayak in addition to being a good and benevolent doctor is a conscientious human rights activist who was blowing whistles on Chhattisgarh government sponsored Salwa Judum’s illegal killings of innocent tribals. The incarceration which the doctor has suffered was the “reward” the government of Chhattisgarh was giving him for his aggressive activism. Salwa Judum, whose misdeeds Dr. Sen was fighting against, has received strong disapproval of the Supreme Court of India.

Another recent instance of misuse of a bad law is the slapping of National Security Act on Varun Gandhi by the UP government. The Chief Election Commissioner had already recommended FIRs against his hate-speech and the law was already taking its course. Even a layman would guess that the NSA was slapped against him with mala fide intention of the state government to harass him and to keep him out of action during the pre-election days.

Such misuse of the draconian laws in our country is so extensive that one is inclined to believe that these laws are enacted as instruments of harassment and vendetta.

After every terror attacks young men are rounded up indiscriminately. They are locked up, tortured, humiliated for days and days and released after police finds no evidence against them. After bomb blasts in Mecca Masjid at Hyderabad in 2007, 75 young men were rounded up, detained illegally and tortured. When the case was handed over to CBI, within hours of interrogation the agency found the arrests of 43 persons unnecessary and released them. The remaining were acquitted by courts towards the end of 2008. The case remained unsolved. The Home minister P. Chidambaram has stated in a matter of fact manner that Mecca case has now become cold. No wonder that most of the terror cases have remained unsolved and gone cold. A whopping 98 per cent of those arrested under stringent unconstitutional laws have had no case against them which can stand in the courts of law. It is as if the administration or the police knowingly arrested the wrong persons in order to shield the real culprits.

A thirty three year old software engineer Sadiq Shaikh was arrested on 24th September 2008. The crime branch booked him under Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act [MCOCA] for his alleged involvement in 11 July 2006 Mumbai train blasts. He was robbed of his liberty till ATS [Anti Terror Squad] took over the case and found no evidence against him. He was released this month. Like this Sadiq Shaikh many a young men were arrested in connection with this train blasts. They faced torture and humiliation. The Government of Maharashtra was mute spectator when anti-social elements threatened the legal fraternity of Mumbai against providing legal assistance to the detainees. Ultimately no evidence against these young detainees was found. The train blasts case remained unsolved and will be remembered as one more case of misuse of a draconian law and a case going cold.

Maulana Abdul Nasser Madani who has founded a secular political party in Kerala had spent 10 years in jail for alleged involvement in Coimbatore blasts in 1998, till he was acquitted of all charges against him. He spent only 4 years less than a life term. For no reason.

The draconian POTA was used by the Gujarat government to keep numerous persons in jail without bail accusing them of conspiracy to torch the train at Godhra station. The detainee’s right to liberty was in abeyance for seven years till Supreme Court ruled that there was no case for booking them under POTA at all.

Following the Mumbai terror attack on 26/11, the Government of India was so rattled and came under so much MCOCA pressure from the NDA opposition that only after a debate of less than one full day it passed draconian amendments to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act [UAPA], which not only incorporated all the nefarious provisions of the infamous POTA and MCOCA, but also gave a new dimension to the age old universal maxim of “innocent till found guilty”. Under the amended UAPA, a court is barred from granting bail to an accused unless it finds the accused prima facie innocent. In other words the accused has to be treated as guilty unless an evidence of his innocence is convincingly presented. This is in contravention of Supreme Court’s direction that granting of bail should be the norm and its rejection an exception. As if this was not draconian enough the NDA wanted the confession made to the investigating agency admissible as evidence. No need to mention here that most confessions made to the investigating agencies are under duress or torture.

The opinions of two big names on this amendment to UAPA act deserve mention. Soli Sorabjee called the provisions of the amendment “constitutionally vulnerable” and “inconsistent with the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR].” Lord Meghnad Desai has called this amendment blatant violation of human rights. He said, “The law just passed by the Indian Parliament is unlikely to survive a PIL that challenges its violation of human rights.”

So, there are bad laws in our statute-book. As long as there are laws which can be misused they will be misused. The bad laws are bad. They trample upon our human rights. They overturn many constitutional principles. As the Chief Justice of India puts it, there are legislators who have no patience with the human laws to tackle terrorism. They don’t want to be tied down by the human rights considerations. It is the duty of the legal community -in which the Chief Justice includes judiciary- to see that the constitutional principles are not diluted and the unconstitutional laws are protested against. The legal fraternity in India should establish a mechanism by which what is not constitutionally correct does not creep into our law-books and if it has crept in, efforts should be made to repeal it. There should be a body of legal experts – a sort of legal ombudsman- who keeps a watch on the legislations passed in the parliament. If any act is found to be constitutionally vulnerable, as Soli Sorabjee puts it, or is not consistent with Human Rights or any International covenant, the ombudsman should appeal to the legislative body to withdraw the bill or the act. The legal fraternity should stop bad laws from being enacted or from being notified and fight to scrap such laws from the book with the help of the courts.

An excellent amendment to the Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Act was passed by the parliament early this year. Under this the freedom to the police to arrest a person for a crime punishable by less than 7 years imprisonment was curbed. The Police would arrest a person only if he fails to respond to a notice to present himself at the station. In short the amendment obviated the necessity of an arrest and therefore the necessity of a bail. The Chief Justice of India endorsed this pro-people act and to emphasize this endorsement he made a startling statement that sixty percent of the arrests made in India are needless. The legal fraternity of Delhi came down on the street protesting against this law. Of course they had their argument. They marched to the parliament, blocked roads and even resorted to hunger-strike forcing the government to defer the notification of the act.

If the legal fraternity and the Delhi High Court Bar Association can stop this amendment to Section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Act from being notified why can’t they protest against the anti-people draconian laws being enacted or being misused? Why can’t we revise our books to get rid of laws which violate human rights and right to liberty?

Taliban Calls For A Timeout, Are Ignored

May 26, 2009: As the Pakistani army advanced into the Swat valley, they found thousands of Taliban prepared to fight. The terrorists had built bunkers and set up roadside bombs. As the army moved up the valley, armed civilians in many towns turned on small contingents of Taliban and drove them out. In some larger towns, especially in northern Swat, the local militias are getting hammered by the Taliban. Many of the Taliban concentrated in the largest city in the valley, Mongora. There, the Taliban made themselves even more unpopular by using landmines. The Taliban mines are used indiscriminately, and thus will claim many civilian victims over the next year or so until all are found and cleared. So far, the fighting with the Taliban has left at least 1,100 Taliban, and about a hundred soldiers and police dead.

South of Swat, the army is moving more troops up for an advance into Waziristan, the main source of Taliban support in the tribal territories.

Over 2.5 million people have fled their homes to avoid the fighting with the Taliban in the tribal territories (in Swat and adjacent districts). They are not just fleeing the fighting, but also Taliban recruiting and fund raising efforts. The Taliban have been demanding that each family supply one man (or teenager) armed with a gun, plus a contribution of about a thousand dollars. Most families cannot, or do not, want to comply. These refugees are expected to be homeless for months. The fighting, and Taliban activities in general, have crippled the economy in the tribal territories, and reduced the incomes for most families. Some of these refugees want to leave the tribal territories, but police are stopping them from entering Sind to Punjab, the lowland provinces where 80 percent of Pakistanis live. The lowlanders believe tribal territory refugees will form communities that will provide cover and support for criminals and terrorists. There are some 200,000 Afghan refugees (from the 1980s war) still living in Sind and Punjab, and are often involved in criminal and terrorist operations. There are still three million Afghans living in Pakistan, and they are often pro-Taliban. The lowland Pakistanis are largely united against the Taliban now, even though many of the lowlanders are Islamic conservatives. At the moment, there are 4-5,000 armed Taliban opposing over 50,000 troops and police in Swat and surrounding areas. Some small groups of Taliban are crossing into Punjab, but there are quickly identified and confronted by troops or police.

May 25, 2009: In Mingora, Pakistani troops are fighting about 300 Taliban defending deserted buildings in the city center. It’s expected to take a week or so to clear all the Taliban out of the city. Meanwhile, the Taliban have announced a ceasefire in Swat, but the army has ignored this. The Taliban cannot stand up to troops, especially in urban areas. The Taliban fighters are largely untrained country folk who are far deadlier out in the hills. The Taliban leaders do not want to give the order to flee back to the mountains, as this would be an admission of defeat, and a major symbolic defeat. But the Taliban fighters are heading for the hills. The Pushtun warriors who supply most of the Taliban manpower, customarily flee from a more powerful enemy. It’s an old tradition, which has kept many of the tribes from being exterminated during centuries of constant fighting and feuding.

May 24, 2009: Pakistani troops are fighting block by block in Mingora, the largest city in Swat. About ten percent (about 20,000 people) of the population stayed in Mingora, and are trying to stay out of the way of the fighting. There appear to be no more than 1,500 Taliban in the city, and the army is surrounding the place to make sure the terrorists don’t get away.

In Austria, Sikh extremists attacked and killed one of two visiting Sikh clerics, who were conducting religious services for followers. There are about 3,000 Sikhs living in Austria. About two percent of Indians are Sikhs, an offshoot of Hinduism that mandates all adult males wear a turban and take the last name “Singh” (Lion). The Austrian violence was over the use of caste among Sikhs. Many Sikhs believe caste is not relevant, but the dozen or so attackers in Austria belong to a faction that believes caste is still important. In northwest India, where most Sikhs live, there were riots in response to the Austrian violence.

Police in eastern India found and shot dead two Maoist leaders.

May 21, 2009: In western India (Maharashtra state) sixteen police were killed when they were ambushed by Maoist rebels.

May 20, 2009: Pakistani police have been alerted to look out for seven al Qaeda leaders who have fled Iraq and are believed to be in Pakistan. The terrorists are trying to resume their attacks in Pakistan, in cooperation with the Taliban. The Iraqi terrorists have money, and are looking for weapons and recruits. Police, at check points, are arresting foreigners who appear to be headed for Swat (to join the Taliban.)

10,000 men protecting N-assets: official

By Kamran Yousaf

‘The intent clearly appears to be mala fide,’ he said. ‘It does not make sense for anyone to continue to harp on this despite having understanding of how Pakistan does its work,’ said the Air Commodore. – APP photo

ISLAMABAD: A senior official of the country’s premier defence nuclear establishment has said that a large force of nearly 10,000 people is in place to ensure security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and western fears about the safety of the weapons are unfounded.

Air Commodore Khalid Banuri, who is director of arms control and disarmament affairs at the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), said that Pakistan’s ‘command and control structure’ for the weapons was better than that of many other nuclear states, and many countries and their experts had officially acknowledged this.

In a rare interview with DawnNews, Air Commodore Banuri described as ‘preposterous’ western media reports that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons might fall into wrong hands – terrorists or other non-state actors. ‘The intent clearly appears to be mala fide,’ he said. ‘It does not make sense for anyone to continue to harp on this despite having understanding of how Pakistan does its work.’

He said: ‘We have taken stringent measures which are legislative, institutional, procedural and administrative. We have ensured all aspects of nuclear capability.’

Elaborating, he said that a large force of highly trained and professional people – in fact over 10,000 people were looking after the security of the nuclear assets.

Answering a question, Air Commodore Banuri said Pakistan constantly maintained contact with a number of states on the nuclear issue.

‘We have interaction with several countries, including the US, EU and Japan, and the IAEA. What we have with the US, this is clearly known…. Our interaction with the US is based on the two basic principles, non-intrusiveness and our right to pick and choose.’ However, he made it clear that such interactions did not mean that Pakistan had granted access to anyone to its nuclear assets.

DawnNews TV will air a special report titled ‘Who’s afraid of the bomb’ at 3.30pm on Thursday, and the detailed interview of Air Commodore Khalid Banuri at 11.30pm on Friday.

Taking out Pak nukes

By Irfan Asghar | Published: May 28, 2009

On May 14,Fox News reported that the US has got a comprehensive plan to infiltrate into Pakistan and secure its nuclear arsenal if there appeared any possibility of the country falling under the control of Taliban. Reportedly the operation would be conducted by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) – a component unit of the Special Operations Command, which got its birth on Dec 15, 1980 in the wake of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw and has got a history of conducting highly classified operations.

Besides hunting down terrorists in Afghanistan, the JSOC is said to have got another important mission of securing Pakistan’s nukes. What followed hard on the heels of this news was a report by the analysts of the Institute for Science and International security (ISIS) that Pakistan is expanding nuclear sites as part of the effort to bolster the destructive power of its atomic arsenal. Satellite photos have also been issued to give credence to this claim. Moreover, the ISIS says that as Pakistan army is waging a war against Taliban militants in the northwest, so the security of its nuclear assets remains in question.

If we have a non-partisan approach and candid analysis of the situation, it comes out loud and clear that all this is a part of the game to create panic, horrify the international community about Pak nukes and translate the heinous objectives of encroaching the nuclear sovereignty of Pakistan into reality. But this is a fantastic scheme. Pak nukes are not placed in open air under any shed without any custody that JSOC will come into action and take control of them. They have been secretly protected. Despite making efforts to monitor the whereabouts, the US intelligence agencies cannot for the life of them trace all the sites of the storage of nukes in Pakistan. This has also been conceded by the CIA director Leon Panetha that the US does not know the location of all of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Most importantly, a fully vigilant army is there to safeguard nukes, and foil any mischevious attempt in this regard.

Interestingly, the US intelligence agencies have not got any impressive record of doing things. They badly failed to pre-empt the 9/11; they are running around in circles to capture Osama bin Laden and they have failed to track down the links of terrorists. It is a stupidity of the highest order to think that JSOC and US intelligence agencies, which have failed to control the nuclear program of Iran at its infancy stage, will be capable enough to undo the nuclear sovereignty of Pakistan-a fully fledged nuclear state. If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. To expect from US intelligence agencies, which are writhing with embarrassment after repeated failures to change the regimes in Iran and North Korea, that they will locate Pakistan’s nuclear sites and enable the JSOC to carry out operation is chimerical. Where was the JSOC, when North Korea on different pretexts at various periods of time violated the US-sponsored nuclear disablement agreements and carried out missile experiments.

America is facing stark failure in Afghanistan. Where is the JSOC? Why it has failed to exterminate the Taliban factor, when the US soldiers are obliged to commit suicides out of failure and frustration. The New York Times has reported that Taliban are using US manufactured arms against American troops. Why the JSOC and intelligence agencies have failed to preempt the leakage of arms from Afghan forces to the Taliban.

The point of fact is that the US is entirely baffled at this time and acting out of desperation. The glaring example of this is that it is blowing hot and cold nowadays. Even the US president does not seem to have thinking of his own and is parroting the line of anti-Pakistan lobbies. The writer suggests the US officials that they should stop worrying about Pak nukes and start taking care of their own country which is faltering, in a precarious condition and approaching the inevitable fate of collapse. As far as Pak nukes are concerned, Pak army is fully equipped and bright eyed in the context of putting the extremists to rout and securing its nuclear arsenal. The spectacular example is the ongoing operation in Pakistan. Pakistan army is getting success in the field in which the US-led NATO forces have miserably failed to achieve anything worthwhile.

The US media, international institutes and so-called pundits or analysts have got a track record of creating hype, laying it on thick and raising ulterior speculations about sensitive issues to cater to the needs of certain powerful lobbies. Pakistan is a country of 170 million enthusiastic people and 620,000 strongly professional army, having the wherewithal to forestall the unholy objectives of its rival lobbies and forces.

The writer is a foreign affairs analyst
E-mail: irfanasghar99@yahoo.com

In Loving Memory of Capt. Omerzeb (Shaheed) – A brave soldier, an obedient son, a caring brother and a loving fiancé!

Many of us never knew personally Captain Omerzeb and his comrades who laid down their lives. However these chaps will always have a special place. We may be silent and not able to express our thoughts eloquently but that will not diminish the highest regards we have for these men of honor. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of this special breed.

Blow out, you bugles, over the rich dead!
There’s none of these so lonely and poor of old,
But, dying has made us rarer gifts than gold.
These laid the world away; poured out the red
Sweet wine of youth; gave up the years to be
Of work and joy, and that unhoped serene
That men call age; and those who would have been,
Their sons, they gave their immortality.

Blow, bugles, blow! They brought us, for our dearth,
Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain.
Honor has come back, as a king, to earth
And paid his subjects with a royal wage;
And nobleness walks in our ways again;
And we have come into our heritage.’

Since the operation against militants began in April last month, over 1,100 militants had been killed and over 60 soldiers had been martyred so far. Yet I never felt the pain of those dying in the name of their country’s sovereignty against terrorism so excruciating as the martyrdom of my sister’s fiancé.

He was only 24 years old, a month older to me and he was very smart and handsome boy. He loved my sister and she loved him and we all loved him just as much as his own family loved him. He was engaged to my younger sister and they were looking forward to getting married by next year.

On 11th of May, 2009, he was deployed to Lower Dir as part of the Operation ‘Rah-e-Rast’ against Militants in Swat and near-by areas. He left from Rawalpindi and we all prayed for him. We never knew he was leaving forever. Let me narrate to you what happened just 10 hours before he embraced martyrdom – we Muslims call ‘Shahadat’

It was mid-night – the beginning of the painful 21st May, 2009. He called up my sister and wished her a very happy birthday. The 21st of May was the day when 23 years ago my younger sister came into this world. He sang to her ‘birthday song’ in 6 different languages, he gave her his prayers and told her how bad he feels for not being there with her on her birthday.

He was in Lower Dir and she was here with us in Rawalpindi. She said to him, “I wish you were here on my birthday. I wish I could have celebrated my birthday with you.” And he replied, “Do you want me to come over? Should I come over to Rawalpindi in the morning and we celebrate your birthday together?” She said, yes, please, please do.”

He did come over on her birthday but not the way we wanted him to come over. He didn’t come to her walking on his feet, holding a bouquet in his hands just the way he promised to her last night. Instead, he came on the shoulders of sad soldiers in a box we call a martyr’s coffin! He had been martyred on the 21st of May, 2009 – The very day my sister came into this world, he left this world forever – On my sister’s birthday!

I received a call at around 11:30 in the morning, I was in Islamabad. It was my ill-fated sister and she was crying like a mad woman. She was literally screaming in the phone so I couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. I heard something like a blast in Lower Dir, a strip running on a TV channel showing my sister’s fiancé’s name among the martyred. She was hysterical. She wanted me home right away.

I left in panic, I kept praying the news I just heard was false. It took me an hour to reach home from Islamabad to Rawalpindi. I was met with screams of my sister who was out of control of almost everyone. She wasn’t accepting the fact that her love has left her on her birthday. She kept screaming, “You guys are lying to me. He is not dead. He cannot leave me. He promised me to celebrate 93 birthdays with me. This was our first. He can’t leave me on our (her) first birthday, he promised me 93 birthdays together.”

I couldn’t see her like this; I had broken down into tears. My mother was half-living half-dead. We all left for his house. What I saw there, I cannot narrate in words. His mother was still, tears in her eyes, she hugged me and the first thing she said was, “Hold on to your sister, she will die. Take care of her.” I was looking at her. This was the mother of a brave soldier, a soldier who was our loved one, but a soldier who came home on his love’s birthday but not the way any member of his family or mine would have ever imagined or wanted him back.

Even if I want to tell you what my family on the whole and specifically my younger sister is going through, I won’t be able to because there are no words to put down my pain, my family’s loss, his family’s sufferings and most of all my sister’s desolation. Two families were destroyed when one soldier died. 14 hearts wept dry of blood when one heart stopped beating on the 21st of May. All sacrifices in the name of a peaceful, safe, terrorism-free country.

Capt. Omerzeb, like many soldiers sacrificed his life for the greater good of his nation but is the nation even thankful to those families who have been left scarred for life. When sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers die every other day while fighting the militants, how many people in our nation pray for their safety, their long lives, their safe return? They know that when they are sitting in the comforts of their homes, it is these brave men fighting on the borders for them to have that sense of security and comfort.

My heart breaks every time I see my younger sister who has not regained herself so far. Who wakes up in the middle of the night and weeps like a child, who hasn’t eaten in 24 hours, and whose eyes have swollen dry of tears that have drained her off completely. I wish this fight against the militants come to an end soon. Till now every time a soldier died, we thought we felt the pain but no, we couldn’t. Nobody can until your loved one goes away when you are least expecting. Now, I can truly say I know what a martyr’s family goes through when their beloved leaves them forever.

May his soul rest in peace, may all those soldiers who have given their lives for this noble cause, for their country rest in peace. Most of all, the families who have lost their sons, their brothers, their husbands and their fathers, may God give them strength, patience, and peace of heart. I post this true story of a distraught family, of my family, of my loss, of my younger sister’s anguish to pay tribute to the brave Capt. Omerzeb for his valor and all the love that he gave us in whatever little time we spent with him. God bless us all!

Pakistan: The Swat Offensive After One Month

A Pakistani internally displaced youth at a makeshift camp in Swabi on May 26

TARIQ MAHMOOD/AFP/Getty Images

Summary

Pakistan’s military offensive against the Taliban has been in progress for one month. Military forces have begun intense fighting in Mingora, the Swat district headquarters, but are facing logistical challenges from the millions of internally displaced people. The military will encounter difficulties expanding its operations in South Waziristan, if the government chooses to conduct an all-out assault on the locations of jihadists.

Analysis

May 26 marks one month since Operation Rahi-i-Rast (Straight Path) was launched by the Pakistani army to retake the greater Swat region from Taliban militants. Over the weekend, the battle for regaining control of Swat district headquarters Mingora began, and intense house-to-house fighting continues inside the city. Troops are reportedly in control of several areas of the city, which explains why Tehrik-i-Taliban Swat spokesman Muslim Khan told media that the jihadists had been asked by Swat Taliban chief Maulana Fazlullah to fall back.

While Pakistani forces have had limited success in Mingora, given the Taliban move to regroup, they are still facing stiff resistance from fighters who remain holed up in the city, according to army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. Abbas added that it would be another 7 to 10 days before the military can clear Mingora. The commander of Peshawar-based XIth Corps, Lt. Gen. Muhammad Masood Aslam, has said that escape routes have been sealed and has demanded the unconditional surrender of Taliban forces. The key challenge for Pakistani security forces on the battleground is to prevent the escape of Taliban fighters, whose modus operandi is to escape into the countryside to fight another day. However, there are many who desire to die as martyrs, which is why the surrender call will not be successful, and such fighters are digging into their strongholds in Mingora for an intense fight.

In previous military operations in Swat, the Taliban fighters have been able to flee the battle zone only to return once the army withdrew. The terrain makes it extremely difficult to ensure a high degree of success in preventing Taliban fighters from escaping.

Elsewhere, the army claims that 90 percent of Buner has been cleared where there has been relaxation in the curfew during the daytime. The situation in Dir and Shagla, however, continues to remain in flux where there are certain areas in which curfew has been relaxed but other areas continue to be under Taliban control.

In order to restore local administrative and security structures in the cleared areas, the government has cut the training short of both police officials at the academy in Hangu and several district management group civil servants and is dispatching them to the Swat region in order to restore local governance. It will be a major challenge to bring back those governmental structures at the grassroots level because the Taliban took advantage of the vacuum to take over the region. Pakistan’s efforts to rebuild governmental organizations that will be able to withstand the Taliban’s attempts to return after the dust settles will also be difficult, especially since police with limited training will be particularly vulnerable to jihadist guerillas and suicide bombers. What this means is that the army will have to stay in the area for a considerable period of time.

Meanwhile, the army has begun limited operations in the much tougher jihadist environment of South Waziristan, which is the logical outcome of the emerging broad-based political will in Islamabad that the offensive should not stop with the Swat region but also should hit Waziristan and other troublesome areas. The timing of such an operation will depend on resources. The army likely is gradually building up an assault on the tribal region similar to what took place in the greater Swat region where it first moved into Buner and Dir and then made its way into Swat. A key difficulty in opening a second front is Pakistan does not have the troops available both to maintain a permanent presence and to fight the other battles it needs because of its deployment on the eastern border with India.

For now, however, the government has its hands full with the some 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) ‘a crisis much bigger than the offensive itself. An indicator of the magnitude of the problem posed by refugees fleeing from the war zones in the greater Swat region can be assessed by the United States move to provide assistance in terms of supplies (tents, air conditioners, power generators, etc.) to house the IDPs. Expanding the sphere of the offensive means the number of refugees will increase further, a very large pool of disaffected people who could become a support base for the Taliban.

Therefore, success for Islamabad is not just in terms of clearing and holding territories but also dealing with the humanitarian crisis.

India gets AWACS

THE arms race New Delhi is pursuing is a bad omen for South Asia. On Monday, it received its first Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) Phalcon from Israel. The aircraft, which is also called ‘eye in the sky’, would provide the Indian Air Force the ability to look deep into neighbouring countries, and the flights of aircraft and missiles from as far as Afghanistan could be monitored by this surveillance system. The aircraft has been bought at a whooping price of $1.1 billion and so far only a few countries in the world have it. By spending so much, New Delhi on the one hand has ignored millions of poverty stricken Indians, and on the other, it intends fuelling a new arms race in the Subcontinent. Pakistan under these circumstances cannot remain indifferent and would therefore be forced to take necessary steps. Another alarming factor for Pakistan is the Israeli-Indian nexus that has developed in recent years. Israel has always sided with New Delhi in its attempts to dominate Islamabad. Its strategy to arm India with aircraft that are counted among the most sophisticated in the world poses a serious threat to Pakistan.

A tribute to Pakistan armed forces and people

Dr. Ali Mohammad

Ever since its inception in 1947, Pakistan has been under direct aggression by India and other powers. The nation’s enemies have tried everything in their power to undermine its independence and territorial integrity. But the greatest harm has originated from the country’s enemies within its borders over the years. Pakistan’s tragedy is that its successive leadership has failed to appreciate its immense potential – abundant natural resources, sufficient manpower, a beautiful landscape, a rich and varied culture, and its strategic geographic location. The Pakistani leadership has failed to take a sound stand against those who have constantly maligned Pakistan’s armed forces, the ISI, or its nuclear assets. Moreover, it has unnecessarily entertained foreign leaders to meddle in Pakistan’s affairs, while maligning it for every problem that happens on foreign soil. Many of these Pakistani leaders have been inept and weak to boldly face outside powers.

More recently, it is disgusting that some known political figures, who are asking for an end to the operation against the enemies of Pakistan and their agents in Swat, Malakand, and Waziristan do not appreciate what sacrifices our armed forces are paying, and have been paying, to rid the country of these enemies of Pakistan and Islam. While the Western media has been generally hostile and negative towards Pakistan, our national media has also been guilty of irresponsible and, sometimes, unpatriotic reporting. Shamelessly, they report every shred of news printed in the foreign media that goes against our national interests. In the name of freedom of the press, many of our media men and women have seriously compromised their professional integrity, while they have also tarnished the sanctity of the press. These persons have been promoting a distorted version of events in Pakistan. The resulting disinformation has contributed to increased terrorism, economic and financial crisis, political instability, and social chaos within the country. Since the 1980s, Pakistan has also been suffering from sectarian violence. Pakistan’s foreign enemies and their agents have caused a lot of strife and destruction of life and property by attacking mosques, imambargahs and other places of worship. Fortunately, they have been unsuccessful in their mission to provoke the true believers of Rasool ul lah (PBUH) to incite civil and sectarian war in the country. However, since the invasion of Afghanistan by the Allied forces, Pakistan has unnecessarily been drawn into a war, which should not have been ours. Yet, nearly 2,000 Pakistani soldiers have laid down their lives to save humanity around the world from acts of terrorism. Similarly, thousands of civilians have perished, and millions of people have suffered in the ensuing bombing of their homes and have been left homeless to make their fellow human beings in other lands safer. Moreover, we have suffered economic losses to the tune of $5 billion per year since 2001, while the life and property of other countries have been made secure. It is ironic that we are asked to do more. There has been an unrelenting disinformation campaign against Pakistan’s nuclear assets, which has as its sole aim, the effective deterrence to Indian aggression.

Presently, some politicians have joined the bandwagon of foreign powers that are bent on discrediting the Pakistan Army and ISI. The ISI has played a highly credible role in identifying real enemies and exposing them. Obviously, then, the internal and external enemies of Pakistan are determined to destroy this vital institution. We must not allow the enemies of Pakistan to succeed. Nor must we oblige those who criticise us while our young soldiers are dying on the borders to save millions of lives in other lands. It is no secret that who is supporting militants in FATA and Balochistan. How else could they be fighting the world’s most professional armed forces? But the real mystery is that why the Pakistani government is not forthright in naming those countries and their agencies that are financing, training, equipping, and guiding the militants? The second question that comes to mind is why the successive governments have been so incapable in thwarting and destroying the evil game that has had been played against Pakistan? The Pakistani political leadership should not behave cowardly as the survival of the state is at stake. It should be cognizant of India’s threatening designs and its aggressive international posturing. Our patriotic leadership must reject and fend off all internal and external pressures that are detrimental to our vital security institution. One hundred and seventy million Pakistanis stand firmly behind their armed forces; they are ready to form a formidable second line of defence behind their soldiers against any aggression from any quarter. Thus, with our political leadership, our populace, and our armed forces united we should not be the first to blink in the face of foreign bullies and belligerents. In fact, we should never blink. Pakistan’s armed forces, which have always defended the nation, in the latest campaign to rid the country of the menace of the Taliban and militancy and to safeguard the country’s defence are writing history with their precious blood. Those who are aware of the geography of FATA know how difficult and dangerous it is to tackle an operation against well-entrenched militants in the rugged mountains of NWFP. These brave and dedicated soldiers have gone there to challenge the thugs in their dens. The nation, and even the world, should not under-estimate their patriotism, perseverance, and loyalty to Pakistan. The history of our armed forces is one of honour, valour, and commitment to the defence of the country. Similarly, during peacetime, there are several examples where they saved many lives in national disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and cyclones and rehabilitated hundreds of thousands of families. Their sense of duty has earned them and Pakistan a great tribute. It is now the duty of the politicians to fully support our armed forces to search and destroy all enemies of Pakistan. The APC has done the correct thing in standing behind the present campaign against militants in Swat, Malakand, and Buner. But they must fulfill their responsibility to provide full support to the displaced families, which are crucial for the success of this operation. The Government of Pakistan should increase its efforts to help those families who have suffered due to terrorism in the country. Pakistanis today salute these civilians who have immensely suffered, but who have arisen to the crisis every time. We also commend other patriotic Pakistanis who did not fall into the trap of sectarian animosity laid by the enemies of the country. Pakistanis themselves are to be commended for their resilience in which they have not only safeguarded the honour of the country, but have bounced back after serious setbacks.

The Pakistani nation finds assurance in recent pronouncements from the Prime Minister that “nuclear weapons were the cornerstone of Pakistan’s deterrence strategy and enjoyed complete national consensus and support”. He also stated that “We are determined to retain nuclear deterrence at all costs while ensuring foolproof security of our nuclear assets,” and that “No use of coercion, direct or indirect, will ever force Pakistan to compromise on its core security interests. Insinuations to the contrary are plain mischievous and designed to create doubts in the minds of the people of Pakistan and I dismiss these with contempt,” he declared. The nation expects that all the leaders in the country confirm this stand. The history of Pakistan contains moments of great triumph and seemingly irreparable loss (as after the nation was divided into two countries in 1971 after India-Pakistan war). But the nation overcame even this calamity, and rose like the phoenix from its own ashes. The Pakistani people may seem divided in happy times, but in a crisis they become an insurmountable force. The Pakistani people stand behind and deeply respect those brave men who have guarded our borders to defend our independence, who have shed their blood to save our country and our lives, and who have stayed awake, so that ordinary citizens could sleep peacefully. Pakistanis also offer their condolences, but also their deep sense of gratitude to their mothers and fathers, and their families and friends for the loss of these brave men. The Pakistani nation has made immense sacrifices so that other nations can attain peace. But the fighting spirit of our citizens will prevail. If any enemies attempt to destroy our homes; we will build again. If they try to destroy our schools; we will teach our children on simple school mats. If they spill our blood; we shall not succumb. Let there be no doubt that the entire nation stands united under the shadow of Allah’s grace during the present crisis.

Collective use of Chenab water

Sajjad Hussain Palejo

Whilst the “energy cum power crisis” has precipitated the economic slowdown and augmented anguish in the life of citizens with lengthy spells of “power stoppages”, India withheld millions of cubic feet of water upstream on the Chenab in Indian-administered Kashmir and stored it in the massive Baglihar dam so as to produce hydro-electricity. This was a flagrant breach of Indus Water Basin Treaty of 1960, as it resulted in the substantial decrease of water levels of both the river and subsoil water. After initial talks to try and resolve the issue, the matter has been put on pause because India considers it an inappropriate climate for “peace process and Composite dialogues in the wake of Mumbai attacks of 26 November, 2008 in which 170 people were killed, fuelling tensions between the two neighbours. However, it is hoped that when India sees Pakistan is serious in fighting the militants in FATA, India will soften her stance and re-start peace process and r the distribution of water as a resource. This is because the sources of all the five tributaries of the Indus – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej remained in India. The dispute between India and Pakistan over water resources is rooted in history. Just after the partition of the subcontinent in 1948, Delhi stopped the flow of water from the canals on its side, denying water to some 8 per cent of the cultivated area. However, India agreed with Pakistan, which allowed for the continuation of water supplies for irrigation purposes until the Pakistani side managed to develop alternative water resources. As a result of World Bank’s constant efforts from 1952 to 1960, the Indus Water Treaty-1960 was signed, designed to regulate water use in the region. According to Indus Water Treaty of 1960, India has got the exclusive control over the waters of the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, whereas Pakistan controls the waters of the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. As the demand for water has increased by leaps and bounds, India is seeking maximum control over the sources of the supply of water of 3 western rivers, and thereby increasing the tension with Pakistan that share the claims over water. At the current pace the population of Pakistan will rise to 270 million in 2025.

The alarming situation again emerged in 1984 when India announced plans to build the barrage on the Jhelum River at the mouth of Wullar Lake, the largest fresh water lake, near the town of Sopore in the disputed Kashmir Valley. This created uproar in the Pakistani camp and under compulsion India had to stop the constructional work on the project. Again in 1992, India announced her plans for another controversial water reservoir, the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River- allotted to Pakistan by the 1960 treaty. The Chenab is fed with glacial melt-waters from the Himalayas and for centuries has provided crucial irrigational system for the region. While the accord gave India full rights to use water from the eastern rivers by building dams and barrages, it allowed limited irrigation use of water from the western river earmarked for Pakistan. The Treaty barred India from interfering “with the water of these rivers except for domestic use and non-consumptive use, limited agriculture use and limited utilization for generation of hydro-electric power.” The treaty also barred India from storing any water or constructing any storage works on the western rivers that would result in a reduced flow of water to Pakistan. The water dispute has been on the agenda of the composite dialogue, but no progress has been made. While talks have yet to yield results, Indian attempt to use water as a geo-strategic tool, is unfair and in contravention to the IWT-1960.

Ever since the inking of Indus Water Treaty-1960 over collective sharing of water, the Indian Government has devised a well-articulated strategy to deprive Pakistan of water and render it into a desert. The construction of Uri Todiam Dam, Kishan Ganga Dam, Salal dam, Wullar barrage, Tulbul Navigational barrage, Baglihar dam etc, on Pakistani rivers, are grand design to conquer Pakistani water, because dams on these site have the potential to make the well-placed link-canal system redundant in Pakistan. By doing so, India will be in a position to close down both of these rivers (i.e. Jhelum and Chenab). If it is allowed to happen, then it would make Pakistan barren by 2014. The Baglihar Dam along with other dams has diminished the flow of Chenab during the vital Rabi crop-sowing season (January and February) threatening Pakistan’s agro-based economy.

According to Indus Water Treaty-1960, Pakistani position on the Chenab water issue has been that a minimum of 55,000 cusecs of water should flow into Pakistan at the Marala headworks near Sialkot in peak season; however, a flow of only 22,000 cusecs was recorded last year, adversely affecting the crops. Pakistan demanded compensation for the water from India. The Indian did not pay any heed to objections raised by Pakistan relating to the compensation for the loss of 23,000 cusecs of water. India says that the dam has been built on “run-of-the-water” and as such the amount of water to Pakistan would not reduce. In this connection, Indian commissioner on water, G Aranganathan said it had invited Pakistan’s water commissioner Mr. Jama’t Ali Shah to visit the dam to see that the Chenab’s flow was naturally low. The 470-feet high, 317-meter wide dam, with a storage capacity of 15 billion cusecs of water, has significantly reduced water flow to agriculture-dependent Pakistan. Some of the objections raised by Pakistan on the construction of Baglihar dam are: Firstly, it will have poverty and ecological effects in Pakistan. Secondly, it gave India a strategic leverage in times of tension or war with Pakistan. Thirdly, it would dry some 5.6 million acres of land. India should release Pakistan’s share of river waters and if it is not done, Pakistan will left with no other choice than to take the issue to the court of arbitration or to neutral experts.

Throughout history, rivers have been our foremost source of fresh water for both agriculture and individual consumption. Water has caused people to rise up against people and country to rise up against country. Countries must avoid “unilateralism” in building water dams cum hydroelectric projects. Any major upstream alteration in a river system, or increase in use of shared groundwater, should be negotiated, not imposed as in case of Indian water overtures on its neighbors. The governments of India and Pakistan should look beyond national borders to basin-wide cooperation. India, the biggest country of the region, has to allay the concerns of its neighboring countries, i.e. Pakistan & Bangladesh as the lower riparian states and Nepal and Bhutan as the upper riparian states, while utilizing the hydro potential of its waters. Upholding the thesis of “collective use of Hydrology”, India should release water from its own share to save the Indus delta so vital for keeping the regional ecological system robust. India has plans to build 65 dams to cater the growing needs of its burgeoning population. On the other hand, Pakistan has so far constructed only 63 dams altogether. The Chenab water blues can be judiciously addressed by sharing the water as a “collective resource” for our future generations.

Indian Risky Proliferation

By Sajjad Shaukat | Published: May 27, 2009

Although since 9/11, the US-led western countries have been strengthening their counter-terrorism cooperation against the common threat of nuclear proliferation, posed by terrorist organizations, yet in the recent past, setting aside India, they have only focused Pakistan as the main danger in this regard.

On April 21 this year, an American think tanks’ report warned: “if Talibanisation of Pakistan continues at the current pace, Pakistan’s nuclear programme and the “illicit transfer of the material pose a unique threat.”

Notably, by manipulating Taliban’s advances in Buner, US media and high officials misperceived that Pakistan could be overtaken by these extremists who could also possess atomic weapons. In this connection, on April 22, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton clearly remarked that atomic weapons of Pakistan could fall into the hands of terrorists. Recently, although the President Barrack Obama admitted that nuclear assets of Pakistan are safe, yet he clarified that America had all options open. On the other side, Pakistan’s successful military operations which flushed the Taliban out of Buner and Dir exposed the real designs of the US and Europe which only distort the image of Islamabad in relation to nuclear proliferation. In this context, Pakistan’s military and civil leadership has repeatedly been assuring that nuclear assets of the country are under tight security.

It is mentionable that on September 25, 2008, Obama had pledged that if elected he would encourage India and Pakistan to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and resolve the Kashmir problem to reduce nuclear dangers in South Asia. But he has deviated from his earlier commitments.

Nevertheless, double standard of Washington shows that it totally ignores India on the question of nuclear proliferation as its sole aim is to de-nuclearise Pakistan which is the only atomic power in the Islamic World. Now let us know as to who is the real nuclear proliferator.

In July 1998, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seized eight kg. of nuclear material from Arun, an engineer in Chennai including two other engineers. It was reported that the uranium was stolen from an atomic research center. The case still remains pending. On November 7, 2000, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicated that Indian police had seized 57 pounds of uranium and arrested two men for illicit trafficking of radioactive material. IAEA said that Indian civil nuclear facilities were vulnerable to thefts.

On January 26, 2003, CNN disclosed that Indian company, NEC Engineers Private Ltd. shipped 10 consignments to Iraq, containing highly sensitive equipment including titanium vessels and centrifugal pumps. Indian investigators acknowledged that the company falsified customs documents to get its shipments out of India.

In 2004, when the issue of international nuclear black market came to surface, Pakistani nuclear scientist, Dr. A.Q. Khan was only blamed by America and other European states for proliferation activities by ignoring the western nationals and especially those of India. While in February, same year, India’s Ambassador to Libya, Dinkar Srivastava revealed that New Delhi was investigating that retired Indian scientists could possibly be engaged in “high technology programs” in the employ of the Libyan government for financial gains.

On June 12, 2004, Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation (BNC), an American company was fined US $ 300,000 for exporting a nuclear component to the Bhaba Atomic Research Center in India.

In December 2005, United States imposed sanctions on two Indian firms for selling missile goods and chemical arms material to Iran in violation of India’s commitment to prevent proliferation. In the same year, Indian scientists, Dr. Surendar and Y S R Prasad had been blacklisted by the US due to their involvement in nuclear theft. In December, 2006, a container packed with radioactive material had been stolen from an Indian fortified research atomic facility near Mumbai.

Nevertheless, in connivance with the officials, proliferation of nuclear components and their related-material has continued intermittently by the Indians.
Surprisingly, despite nuclear proliferation by India in violation of various international agreements and its refusal to sign Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), CTBT and Additional Protocol with the IAEA, Washington not only included New Delhi in its joined non-proliferation goals like Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), but also signed a pact of nuclear civil technology last year, praising India as a responsible atomic actor.
It is notable that in the past, Islamabad offered a number of suggestions to New Delhi to jointly sign NPT and CTBT, but the latter flatly declined. Instead in 1998, India detonated atomic devices and compelled Pakistan to follow the suit.

It seems that all the global non-proliferation conventions led by the US are applicable to Iran, North Korea and especially Pakistan, while India which has played a real role in the international black market from where even terrorists can obtain these fatal weapons, is exempted because Washington has to fulfill its Asian interests through New Delhi at the cost of Pakistan.

Nonetheless, if American duplicity in the matter continues, Obama’s policy of South Asia will badly fail as all the issues such as terrorism, Kashmir, Afghanistan and non-proliferation are inter-related. So the right hour has come that the international community must take notice of the dangers posed by India proliferation.

The writer is a foreign affairs analyst

E-mail: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Nukes inaccessible to Taliban and US

Syed Muhammad Ali

It seems as if the Neo-Con dominated Fox News wants to avenge Republican’s dismal show in last years US elections, by undermining the Democrat-led counterterrorism efforts in its first year. Their latest attempt aims at sabotaging the delicate and vital relationship between the Obama administration and Islamabad in the war against terrorism by suggesting that the US Special forces have plans ready to take out Pakistani nuclear weapons. Quoting intelligence sources, the US right-wing channel’s report claims that the US military’s chief terrorist-hunting squad, operating in Afghanistan, is working on a secondary mission to secure nuclear arsenal if the Taliban or al-Qaeda overwhelm Pakistan. The US has a detailed plan for infiltrating Pakistan and securing its mobile arsenal of nuclear warheads if it appears that the country is about to fall under the control of the Taliban, Al Qaeda. This is yet another insinuating story which is based on preposterous assumptions. This report represents a clear attempt at undermining the confidence of Pakistani civil and military leadership and every patriot Pakistani citizen of any political or ideological leaning, by raising serious questions about the motives and aims of the US presence in this region, thereby seriously damaging mutual trust and bilateral relationship. According to senior defense sources, Pakistani nuclear weapons are stored in diverse, top secret and highly guarded locations. For additional security the nuclear cores are kept separately from detonators and delivery systems, which even when assembled need the necessary PAL codes requiring more than one person having access to these codes in order to activate them. To quote one of the foremost US authorities on international nuclear and missile issues, Michael Krepon, President of Henry L Stimson Center, feels that Pakistani nuclear weapons are like ‘Crown Jewels’ of the state and hence are jealously guarded with the same zeal. For an average Pakistani patriotic citizen nothing is more valuable than its nuclear weapons and in the psyche of its military, they represent ‘the ultimate deterrence to safeguarding national sovereignty and independence’. Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division (SPD) maintains a dedicated, highy motivated, well-trained force of over ten thousand who guard not just its nuclear assets but also keeps a close eye on all those even remotely having any knowledge whatsoever about its nuclear programm. The personnel reliability programme is an additional feature of safeguarding these national assets which keeps a close and continuous watch on the habits, social activities of even the close relatives of personnel associated with the nuclear programme. It has been noticed that recently a number of strategy pages and blogs on the internet also centre on such fairy tales with careless imagination seemingly inspired by Hollywood blockbusters and Tom Clancy novels. It is interesting to note that while India has had more than a dozen insurgencies going on in territories under its control by Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Hindu and other separatists but it never occurred to Fox News that these separatists could capture Indian nuclear weapons or that IRA sympathizers could penetrate Royal Navy ranks and take over British nuclear-armed submarines. It is peculiar that only Muslim extremists and nuclear weapons are considered a dangerous combination and singled out for painting doomsday scenarios. Pakistani nuclear weapons are its most vital and well-guarded national assets and any attempt to capture or destroy them by anyone will be the ultimate recipe to ignite World War III and I am confident that unlike the Fox News Reporter, the US administration and its military are sane enough to avoid converting ‘war on terror’ into WW3. When it comes to Pakistani nuclear weapons they are as inaccessible to the US forces as they are to the Taliban or al-Qaeda and are as vulnerable to undesirable elements as the US’s own nuclear weapons. Those charged with protecting Pakistani nuclear weapons do not and will not distinguish between any forces attempting to capture or destroy them whether they are Taliban, al-Qaeda or US Special Forces and are sure to face a rude awakening.

India: Sectarian Sikh Riots Spreading

MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images

Indian police clear a roadblock set up by protesters in Punjab on May 26

Riots have spread across the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir following the death of a lower-caste Sikh sect leader in Vienna on May 24. Such communal riots are common for India and can be expected to cause serious disruptions for several days, possibly weeks. Some backlash could also spread to Sikh communities in Europe, Canada and the United States. The crisis began May 24 when Sant Rama Nand, a leader of the Ravidassi sect visiting from India, was shot dead at a Sikh place of worship, known as a gurdwara, in Vienna. Another senior leader of the sect, Sant Niranjan Das, was critically injured in the attack, while several other worshipers were injured. The Ravidassi sect follows many of the same principles of Sikhism as other sects, but is made up of lower-caste members, known as Dalits or untouchables in the formal caste system. A small group of mainstream Sikhs in Vienna vehemently opposed Sant Niranjan Das preaching at their place of worship. Using firearms and knives, six young Sikh radicals launched a deadly attack on the gurdwara.

Vienna’s Sikh community spread news of the attack quickly via text messaging and e-mail, leading to widespread riots across Punjab and Haryana in northern India. Sikh mobs have been emptying trains, forcing businesses to close, setting fire to buildings and smashing vehicles and windows with swords and sharp rods. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, has appealed to the Punjabi Sikh community to maintain peace as military and paramilitary forces were called to the state to enforce a curfew imposed in five Punjab towns. Three train routes – the Dadar-Amritsar express, Mumbai-Amritsar deluxe and Shaheed express – have been shut down at the Ambala junction on the Haryana-Punjab border, while traffic between the two states has come to a near standstill.

Resentment among lower-caste Sikhs has been escalating in recent years as Dalit communities have pushed for a stronger political voice. Violence broke out between rival Sikh sects in May-June 2007 when a controversial Sikh leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect set off a firestorm by dressing up as Guru Gobind Singh, the revered 10th and last Sikh guru. Punjab, Haryana and parts of Delhi were wracked with violent protests and road blockades for several weeks before paramilitary forces were able to impose order. Such intra-Sikh riots are distinct from the riots that engulfed northern India in the 1980s and 1990s, when Sikh separatists belonging to the Khalistan movement fought for a sovereign Sikh state.

The Ravidassi sect has several gurdwaras in Austria and elsewhere in Europe, in Canada and in the United States that could experience similar backlash as these riots intensify. Businesses in Punjab and Haryana are advised to close until the violence winds down, as businesses that do not observe declared strikes run the risk of getting attacked. The spread of the riots from Punjab to Haryana indicates potential spillover into parts of Delhi in the coming days.

The rare confessions America ever made

Dr. Raja Muhammad Khan

In the last two months, there has been two prominent occasions once US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has publically acknowledged that US is principally responsible for creation of the current state of militancy in Pakistan. Surely this is a great confession from an unmatched superpower and Pakistan’s chronological ally. Following the footsteps of political leadership, the head of US Forces in Afghanistan, Major General Jeffrey Schloesser has revealed another truth on May 22, 2009, that Taliban and militants from Afghanistan are now infiltrating into the Pakistani territory to help their associates who are hectically fighting with the security forces of Pakistan in Swat, North and South Waziristan, Bajaur and elsewhere in the Tribal areas of Pakistan. Analysts see a deep-rooted connection between this development and US plan of pumping in of additional 21,000 troops in Afghanistan in the near future.

This reminds me the famous statement of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who once said that we will turn Pakistan into Afghanistan, in terms of infighting. At that time his statement was perhaps not analyzed seriously with the possible future fallouts. But surely his statement was neither a slip of tongue nor an nsignificant phrase; rather it had an entrenched meaning. Defiantly there must had been strong backings from many of Afghan allies both new and old, all having historical revulsion against Pakistan. And now we are having it the way it was envisaged, planned and being executed. It goes without saying that in the international politics there are neither the permanent friends nor the permanent foes. Indeed, it is the national interest of a country that dictates its course of future actions in the form foreign policy objectives. Although a lot of credit goes to the Madam Secretary of State for her frank acceptance that US has not been consistent in its policies towards Pakistan and that there have been occasions where Pakistan was left all alone to face the consequences of a particular happening primarily meant for the benefit of United States. The present militancy in Pakistan is the direct fallout of the proxy war we fought against former Soviet Union on behest of US. And what did Pakistan get in return, prohibition of the military and civilian aid meant for various developmental projects through the imposition of infamous Presseler Amendment and through many other direct and indirect hurdles. Going back in the history, Pakistan got a direct threat and a warning from Soviet Union once it assisted US in its covert U-2 Spying mission from Pakistani soil in 1960. Not only this particular incident, but onus of glacial relations between Pakistan and former Soviet Union rests on the Pakistan’s alignment with US and West throughout during the period of cold war and thereafter till date. On another occasion, during the peak period of cold war, it was Pakistan which acted as a committed facilitator in the establishment of relationship between US and People’s Republic of China in early 1970s. Bridging of this gap too was meant to promote US cause against Soviet Union, although in the ensuing years China too gained substantially and now emerging as rising power in the global arena. But did Pakistan get anything of worth mentioning from all what it contributed to bring US to the status of sole superpower? In my candid opinion, it certainly got nothing except dependency, degradation, uneasy and undesired concessions even at the cost of its national interest.

As a nation, we appreciate recognition of the fact that US is responsible for creation of the ruckus we are confronting ever since 2004 in Pakistan. We also acknowledge and appreciate the statement of President Obama, who publically made a statement that, following the incident of 9/11; US acted in haste and did not analyze the consequences of whatever it did at that time. We equally value the sterilized mind of President Obama, once he made an announcement that Kashmir is the root cause of instability in South Asia and he would make sincere efforts to resolve it for a durable peace in the region. But everyone knows who prevailed and consequently constrained the US administration to remain irresolute for taking any step forward on the issue. Pakistani nation would also like to remind the Democrat’s Government in US, the special commitment made by former President Bill Clinton for the resolution of the only cause of instability in South Asia. This great nation does not doubt the US sincerity, because all UN resolutions asking for the grant of right of self determination to Kashmiri people were fully supported by successive US governments. But we would not like the effective role of extremely strong lobby from our eastern neighbour, which has always manipulated through all those who matter in the successive US administrations. It should be remembered that traditionally Pakistanis are a peace loving nation. The present form of extremism and terrorism, as we see today in some parts of the country is direct fallout of our partnership with US during the Afghan war. Our soil, communication infrastructure, people and above all our intelligence network remained wholly supportive to US cause in this tragic and disastrous war. Since the prolonged war fought from the Pakistani territory and its benefactors left in haste upon Soviet defeat cum disintegration, therefore, the fuss of the war fell on Pakistan in the form of; weaponization, frequent inflow of drug, heavy burden of refugees and above all remnants of so-called Afghan Jihad (the former Mujahideen renamed as terrorists after 9/11), mostly foreigners who caused the ongoing state of militancy in Pakistan. Indeed we had never been like this, these are actually the rewards of our contributions towards international community. And once again we have been forced to act as the front line state against the so-called global war on terror, in whose compensation we are continuously being asked to do more. After having given a thorough account of our past achievements and sufferings, from the prolonged marriage of choice, converted into compulsions, over half a century, there are very staid thoughts that either United States must reconcile its policy towards Pakistan or else Pakistan should look for a strategic realignment. In reality, because of the geo-strategic location of Pakistan, it may not be possible for the US to ignore it for a foreseeable future. United States cannot pursue its objectives in the region if it circumvents Pakistan. However it appears on tangible terms that it would not like Pakistan to become so strong that tomorrow it slips out of its hands. Therefore, to me it looks like that US would prefer a drooping Pakistan, which remains heavily dependent on it for its basic necessities. Pakistani nation has a very strong reservation against the current US policies towards it in particular and region in general. The much awaited partial acceptance of responsibilities by US for creating the current state of militancy in Pakistan now morally obliges her to take some immediate practical steps as therapeutic measures. It should help Pakistan in cleansing the militants; a direct product of US backed Jihad in Afghanistan. This would be only possible once it stop the infiltration of the militants from Afghanistan into Pakistan, as accepted by General Schloesser the other day. Not only this, but all intrusion into Pakistan from Afghan territory weather backed by India, Russia, Central Asian States or else any other favourite, should be sealed by US, being the overall responsible for the security of Afghanistan, being the occupying power. Secondly; as a mark of respect for its sovereignty, US should bring an immediate end to the drone attacks in the Pakistani territory, as this infringement has only multiplied the number of militants and terrorists who join and reinforce the camps of former militants and multiply the prevalent difficulties for Pakistan.

If US is really sincere to promote peace in the insurgency-hit tribal areas of Pakistan, it should assist government of Pakistan in creating the employment opportunities for the locals on the basis of human resource development. As in the absence of any means of earnings, the locals would be easily ensnared by the militants. In this way, the expenditure being incurred on the war munitions, soldiers, logistics and explosives can be smoothly re-allocated for the creation and provision of local human resource base, out of the prevalent raw material in the region. US, EU and other members of international community can made long term investment in the region which upon development would benefit both parties; the investor as well as the local worker class. On the long term this aspect would reduce the burden on US for provisioning of aid and loan on to the Government of Pakistan. The concept would bring an end to the bigotry linked with aid lending and begging bowl; prevalent between US and Pakistan. Thus there would be no requirement of accounting and auditing of the aid or loan received from US. The measures suggested can only be implemented if both sides exhibit the spirit of sincerity with each other. Unfortunately, there always have been a trust deficit between the chronicle cronies in their over half a century alliance of necessity. US used Pakistan once it required for its own needs and threw it as dissipate until call forth for another need. As a word of advice for US; the people of Pakistan are not disregardful. They are sincere, loyal and peace loving citizens with numerous potentials, subject to the accessibility of opportunities. They do not anticipate to be treated through subjugation. The need of the hour is to help the Government of Pakistan for creating and improving the educational facilities for the youth of this country, which constitute bulk of the populace. Only in this way they can become useful citizen of Pakistan as well as the beneficial members of international community. And this in turn will put US at ease.