Note: Imran Khan, the author, is the ex-Captain of Pakistan's World Cup winner team and ex-husband of
Jemima.
The Observer, Sunday 9 January 2011
*Pakistan will implode if the US does not leave Afghanistan
The continuing US presence in Afghanistan fuels extremism in neighbouring
Pakistan
*
*by Imran Khan
*
The assassination of Salmaan Taseer has shown only too clearly the growing
extremism in Pakistan, the radicalisation of its society and the
polarisation that is taking hold. This is not just between the religious and
the secular, but also the polarisation that the "war on terror" has caused
between the various religious sects.
There were no Pakistanis involved in 9/11 and al-Qaida was then based
in Afghanistan. The only militancy we were suffering was among the tribal
groups who had fought against the Soviets and whose idea of jihad was a war
against foreign occupation. Yes, there was sectarian violence, but suicide
bombers were unheard of.
So after 9/11, when General Musharraf chose to ally with the Americans in
the "war on terror", it was a fundamental blunder. Overnight he turned the
jihadi groups created to fight foreign occupation from supporters into
enemies, people prepared to fight the Pakistani army because of its support
for the US invasion.
Musharraf then made a second mistake in sending the army into the tribal
areas. Our own tribespeople immediately rose up in revolt. Rather than
co-opting these people – and, remember, every man is armed – we made new
enemies. Then along came the American drones to kill more of our people.
Soon, the American "war on terror" was seen as a war on Islam by the
majority of Pakistanis and certainly by the Pashtuns in the tribal areas.
Terror and extremism intensified.
Every year extremism gets worse, our society becomes more radicalised and
the bloodshed grows. This is how you must see the context of this
assassination. Society is now so polarised that because Taseer criticised
the blasphemy law he was seen as criticising Islam. But that was not what he
said. This assassination would not have happened before the "war on terror".
Imams of different sects are being killed now, and mosques and churches
bombed. The fanaticism keeps getting worse. As disturbing as Taseer's
assassination is, just as disturbing is the way his assassin has become a
hero. That is why this whole thing is so dangerous, it shows where we are
headed.
I have been predicting this from day one. There is no military solution in
Afghanistan, only dialogue, so the supreme irony is that in siding with the
Americans all we have done is send the levels of violence up in Pakistan.
The "war on terror" has weakened the state and then, thanks to the George
Bush-sponsored National Reconciliation Ordinance in 2007, which allowed an
amnesty for all the biggest political crooks, we now have the most corrupt
government in our history. The "war on terror" is destroying Pakistan.
Clemenceau once said: "War is too important to be left to the generals." He
was right; for us it has been a disaster. There is incredible anti-American
sentiment here, and the drone attacks only fuel that hatred. We need a
change of strategy, otherwise the worst-case scenario will be achieved here;
an unstable nuclear state.
It's not a question of there being no room for moderates, it's that
moderates are being pushed towards extremism. Taseer didn't say anything
anti-Islamic, he just questioned the blasphemy law and whether it should be
used to victimise innocent people. His death has caused many moderates to
think there is no point in being a martyr. If it makes people such as myself
think twice about what we say, then where does that leave us? We are all now
at risk.
Crime in Pakistan is now at a level that breaks all records. Yet 60% of the
elite police forces are now employed protecting VIPs. Where does that leave
ordinary people? Young Pakistanis are being radicalised and the Taliban grow
in strength. The US is no longer fighting just the Taliban, it is fighting
the whole Pashtun population.
The consequences for Pakistan, with its population of 180 million, are
enormous. And there is an impact, too, on Muslim youth in western countries.
Graham Fuller, the CIA chief of staff in Kabul, wrote in 2007 that, if Nato
left Afghanistan, Pakistan security forces could overcome terrorism and
extremism. But, as long as the Americans push Pakistan to do more in the
tribal areas, the situation will worsen – until Pakistan itself implodes.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011
Jemima.
The Observer, Sunday 9 January 2011
*Pakistan will implode if the US does not leave Afghanistan
The continuing US presence in Afghanistan fuels extremism in neighbouring
Pakistan
*
*by Imran Khan
*
The assassination of Salmaan Taseer has shown only too clearly the growing
extremism in Pakistan, the radicalisation of its society and the
polarisation that is taking hold. This is not just between the religious and
the secular, but also the polarisation that the "war on terror" has caused
between the various religious sects.
There were no Pakistanis involved in 9/11 and al-Qaida was then based
in Afghanistan. The only militancy we were suffering was among the tribal
groups who had fought against the Soviets and whose idea of jihad was a war
against foreign occupation. Yes, there was sectarian violence, but suicide
bombers were unheard of.
So after 9/11, when General Musharraf chose to ally with the Americans in
the "war on terror", it was a fundamental blunder. Overnight he turned the
jihadi groups created to fight foreign occupation from supporters into
enemies, people prepared to fight the Pakistani army because of its support
for the US invasion.
Musharraf then made a second mistake in sending the army into the tribal
areas. Our own tribespeople immediately rose up in revolt. Rather than
co-opting these people – and, remember, every man is armed – we made new
enemies. Then along came the American drones to kill more of our people.
Soon, the American "war on terror" was seen as a war on Islam by the
majority of Pakistanis and certainly by the Pashtuns in the tribal areas.
Terror and extremism intensified.
Every year extremism gets worse, our society becomes more radicalised and
the bloodshed grows. This is how you must see the context of this
assassination. Society is now so polarised that because Taseer criticised
the blasphemy law he was seen as criticising Islam. But that was not what he
said. This assassination would not have happened before the "war on terror".
Imams of different sects are being killed now, and mosques and churches
bombed. The fanaticism keeps getting worse. As disturbing as Taseer's
assassination is, just as disturbing is the way his assassin has become a
hero. That is why this whole thing is so dangerous, it shows where we are
headed.
I have been predicting this from day one. There is no military solution in
Afghanistan, only dialogue, so the supreme irony is that in siding with the
Americans all we have done is send the levels of violence up in Pakistan.
The "war on terror" has weakened the state and then, thanks to the George
Bush-sponsored National Reconciliation Ordinance in 2007, which allowed an
amnesty for all the biggest political crooks, we now have the most corrupt
government in our history. The "war on terror" is destroying Pakistan.
Clemenceau once said: "War is too important to be left to the generals." He
was right; for us it has been a disaster. There is incredible anti-American
sentiment here, and the drone attacks only fuel that hatred. We need a
change of strategy, otherwise the worst-case scenario will be achieved here;
an unstable nuclear state.
It's not a question of there being no room for moderates, it's that
moderates are being pushed towards extremism. Taseer didn't say anything
anti-Islamic, he just questioned the blasphemy law and whether it should be
used to victimise innocent people. His death has caused many moderates to
think there is no point in being a martyr. If it makes people such as myself
think twice about what we say, then where does that leave us? We are all now
at risk.
Crime in Pakistan is now at a level that breaks all records. Yet 60% of the
elite police forces are now employed protecting VIPs. Where does that leave
ordinary people? Young Pakistanis are being radicalised and the Taliban grow
in strength. The US is no longer fighting just the Taliban, it is fighting
the whole Pashtun population.
The consequences for Pakistan, with its population of 180 million, are
enormous. And there is an impact, too, on Muslim youth in western countries.
Graham Fuller, the CIA chief of staff in Kabul, wrote in 2007 that, if Nato
left Afghanistan, Pakistan security forces could overcome terrorism and
extremism. But, as long as the Americans push Pakistan to do more in the
tribal areas, the situation will worsen – until Pakistan itself implodes.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011
Amazing how so many of them though, in decades, on the brink of independance wanted to fight and die for the British Empire in WWII. :thumbup
