Sovereignty, Drones, Talibans & FATA – by Sikandar Mehdi
Pakistan has to maintain a minimum deterrence against India. Pakistan’s defense strategy has been India centric. For last 64 years the only threat we ever faced was from India. It will be stupid of Pakistan to prepare its defense against Bhutan, Nepal or developed European countries. These planes will help Pakistan in that strategy as Pakistan’s F-16 fleet is an old one, received during Zia’s junta years. Since then we have been begging/requesting/purchasing everybody to update our fleet or give more planes but worldwide response has been either negative or none at all.
Drones are being used in FATA area most probably with some kind of agreement / hood wink by government & security establishment. No one is going to shoot down those drones. Tribal areas since independence have been governed by its own rules & laws. Whatever those rules meant to them but they were harboring dacoits, kidnappers, killers & terrorist amongst them. I know it first hand as my two cars were stolen in 1998 and I followed the leads and ended up in FATA, I saw both my cars parked there in front of me but couldn’t ask police or any kind of jirga or any law enforcement agency to deliver those cars and arrest the criminals. They wanted exorbitant prices for those cars. And till day I haven’t paid that price demanded and have no clue what may have happened to those cars. This is just one small example, I am not the only one who is effected by FATA criminals, there are millions & millions of Pakistanis who have one way or other been effected by those criminal lords of FATA. Even if someone commits crime in settled areas of Pakistan, he could find refuge in FATA under the guise of “mehman nawazi“.
On the other hand I belong to the Shiite and I know personally what these Taliban’s have been doing, we have met first hand their cruelty. It is in last couple of years the Taliban have turned their guns towards “Barelvi” muslims, before that Taliban always targeted “Shia” religious ceremonies or thru target killings. My family has been on the target list of these Talibans during the glorious years of Nawaz Sharif 1997-99. Many like myself survived those target killings is because of the overthrow of Nawaz Sharif government by Musharraf (not to glorify Musharraf). Since Zia’s days of giving Mullah the voice, Shias have been bearing the brunt of atrocities by Jihadi elements working under any name. Taliban are criminals to majority of population living in Pakistan. Yes the media & establishment for their “love” for PPP will take refuge in promoting jihadi causes by making hero out of those baby killers. Those Jihadis will never attack a gathering of Nawaz Sharif, Jamat e Islami, Imran Khan or Media people because they are Taliban & Jihadi sympathizers. In my opinion these Talibans are “Farmed Animals” trained extensively to kill innocent people. If Taliban are “men”, then they should fight US forces in Afghanistan or anywhere they are stationed, but of course they are not men. They should be rewarded “Nishan e Buzdili“ for their atrocities against innocent people.
I also don’t need any lecture from anyone telling me that FATA criminals are Muslims or Kalma-go. But then of course the heirs of YAZEED’S ideology survived too. The kind of Muslims under “Yazeed” who hurried to kill Imam Hussain (RA) as time for prayer was near and they didn’t want to miss their prayers.
Coming to our sovereignty, I ask:
- where was our sovereignty when Moulvis were spoon fed US dollars by CIA (Yahood au Nisara) for jihad against the Soviets?
- where was our sovereignty when mullah’s Islam was dictated by CIA?
- where was our sovereignty when army continuously violated constitution with the help of judiciary and mullahs?
- where is our sovereignty when our media is talking “AMAN KI ASHA” with India who is “planning to destroy Pakistan”, points their nuclear warheads towards us?
- where is our sovereignty when our media houses are owned by Indian Hindus?
- where is our sovereignty when almost nude Indian dances are telecast into our homes?
- where is our sovereignty when Taliban were killing innocent people on the streets of Pakistan?
With no clear answer coming, I feel hell will not break loose if drone kills the person or member of organization linked to killing of innocent babies, women and children. We Pakistanis are sick & tired of cleaning innocent blood from the streets.
I am for any international help to bring those FATA criminals to task, be it USA or UAE, Saudi Arabia or South Africa. People will not be dictated new form of Mullahism thru repugnant jihadi media. People detest Hamid Mir, Ansar Abbasi, Dr. Shahid Masood and other media lunatics eulogizing the baby killers. Every Tom, Dick & Harry who was unable to get any coveted post with the government has his own talk show or is the editor of newspaper spitting venom against the government just to satisfy his personal ego. These media persons if given handsome money by the government, will start singing like a canary in fvor just like their brothers in FATA who are always for sale to highest bidder.
The establishment of Pakistan is so corrupt and inefficient that it can dissolve the most competent leaders and managers. The establishment does not want to give Zardari a chance to succeed so vilified campaigns are working actively against him. But I salute the person who despite lot of hindrances, curse, media trial and blames mended his ways to success and fulfilled his promises. It is obvious that establishment did and would do everything to prepare the ground for his failure. His failure will be more fruitful for them as they have nothing to do with this country. Just because of cheap tactics of establishment so far no Prime Minister or president in Pakistan has succeeded. All of them have disgracefully failed, But in history, like in life, everything is possible by leaders of exceptional visions and skills, like Zardari is proving.