Veteran Pakistani journalist Nazir Naji weighs in on the Saudi-CIA war on Syria

posted by Taj | September 8, 2013 | In Original Articles

In his Urdu column in daily Dunya newspaper, Pakistan’s senior columnist Nazir Naji writes on the situation in Syria in his usual eloquent and simple style. His column is translated and summarized here:

Our sympathies for the Syrian people are natural. They are based in humanity as well as deep religious, historical, cultural and social ties. We must not forget that the Pakistan Air Force actively participated jointly with Syria during the Arab Israeli war. We are deeply concerned about the drums of war. Our media and public opinion strongly condemn war against Syria. I have been writing consistently to point out that the accusation of use of chemical weapons is part of a conspiracy. The fact is the the rebels supported by America and Saudi Arabia are the ones using chemical weapons against the unarmed Syrian civilians. The Western Media is running a malafide campaign to blame the Bashir Al Asad government for these attacks. We have seen such allegations in Afghanistan and Iraq, both countries destroyed by similar false accusations of weapons of mass destruction. Now Syria will also be destroyed in the same way. In the Afghan war we could not help our Afghan brothers but yet we destroyed ourselves with the terrorists and Al Qeada mindset invading our own country. Nothing is safe any more from the terrorists in Pakistan.

America wanted us to go into Iraq with them as well. I have direct knowledge that then Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri worked hard and persuaded General Musharaf to keep his nose out of it. Otherwise we might have ended up in even worse shape than we are now. We cannot save Syria, the disaster to unfold in Syria is now cast in stone. We should not poke our nose in Syria, we should learn from our tragic involvement in Afghanistan. However, there are some among us who have the desire to become martyrs, they took this misguided desire for Jihad in Iraq. The tradition of suicide bombing was brought back to Pakistan as a result of this misadventure. After this our Mujahideen have been serving in Libya, those that brutally killed Colonel Qaddafi included a Pakistani Jihadi. The same nastiness is going on in Syria today.

The reason for American drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan was the Al Qaeda safe heavens. The same Al Qaeda are now sponsored and armed to fight in Libya and Syria by the same Americans. We must understand the this is a business and has no basis in religion or ethics, it is all about making money. Blood shed and murder are collateral damage to fill the coffers of the big business.

In future we will face all kinds of Islamic Lashkars and Jihadis. Our countrymen who are so anxious to help their Syrian brethren should understand that they can do absolutely nothing to save the Syrians from the calamity that is facing them. We can only extend our political and ethical support. No country can help another country as a result of their own domestic and foreign policies. Pakistanis should not forget that when we were fighting the war of our own survival in 1971 no other country came to help us. Why do we harbor the burden of the entire Muslim Umma? Does such a thing even exist? In truth there is no holy war only hijacking of Islam to wage war for profits and power.