I have been catching different news stories, both domestic and international, all day between meetings and phone calls about the early morning military stike on a madrassa. Let’s understand what happened here first and then I will give you a clear picture of what it means for Pakistan. In an early dawn attack, the Pakistan Army wiped out a madrassa in Khar, Bajaur, located on the Pakistan - Afghan border, that was known to be supporting Al Qaeda and the Taliban militants. This area had been warned on numerous occasions to clean up its act and the madrassas that are supporting the extremists in Pakistan, with no attention paid to the warnings. As a matter of fact, a few days ago they had a rally in the same area where they proclaimed Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar as heroes. Now, many news reports are reporting that 70 - 80 militants were killed in the military strike. It has also been reported by a leading domestic news channel that Ayman Al-Zarqawi and the mastermind of the 7/7 London bombings were at the madrassa when the military strike happened.

Since the attack, there have been 2 resignations from the provincial cabinet and the National Assembly by members of the MMA, which is the religocrat extremist party. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the MMA, has called for a nation-wide strike in Pakistan to protest the attack on the madrassa for Tuesday. Since the MMA is the leader of the extremist agenda in Pakistan, they have no choice but to stand by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. This is also the party that is firmly supports the continuation of the controversial Hudood Ordinance, which has imprisoned women in Pakistan since 1979 when it was enacted by General Zia ul Haq, an extremist military dictator.

Looking back on the colored history of Pakistan since 9/11, it has been these tribal areas that have drawn people from other countries, trained them in insurgent activities and told them to go and destroy the ‘infidels.’ It is also these tribal areas that refuse to accept any Government of Pakistan, democratic or military, because they follow tribal law which is comprised of a Sardar (much like Akbar Bugti) and a council of elders following the Shariah. Since I have visited these areas, I know them fairly well and can personally tell you that you can find any weapon that you desire, ranging from Kalashnikovs to rocket launchers. These are the regions were all of the stolen vehicles are taken and sold. They are also the region where most kidnapping victims are recovered from. They are a hot bed for the backward thinking that plagues the North West Frontier Province and keeps it from developing.

In my opinion, it is about time that the Government of Pakistan did something about these madrassas that spew out a perverted form of Islam and teach the next generation of Pakistanis that free thought is wrong. Madrassas in Pakistan have been a target of the Musharraf government for a majority of his term as President. He has tried to encourage the madrassas to reform themselves and come to a straight path. First, he picked up every foreigner in any madrassa in Pakistan and expelled them. Then, he tried to get the mullahs to reform the madrassas to include a more balanced education, but nothing happened. Musharraf then made a deal with the tribal leaders of North Waziristan to allow them to police themselves, which lead to an increase in violence, not only in Afghanistan, but also in Pakistan. If you have been watching the news, you will recall that in the not so distant past, rockets were fired in Rawalpindi causing major explosions, rockets were found in Islamabad pointed at the Parliament House and the President’s House and last week, there was a massive explosion in Peshawar, which took numerous lives. This is the extremist agenda.

When I saw Qazi Hussain Ahmed on a domestic television channel calling this an despicable act and implying that it was probably NATO that carried out the attack, I was not surprised. The religocrats and mullahs have held Pakistan hostage since its inception by blaming the US and the West for everything that is wrong with Pakistan and pretending to be the religious police while holding no semblance of understanding of the religion they vow to defend.

Islam doesn’t teach that women are to be oppressed, mullahs do that.

Islam doesn’t teach that killing people that you disagree with is accepted, mullahs do that.

If you follow the various illogical comments around the world, you will find some fanatic mullah making them, from the cleric in Australia comparing uncovered women to “uncovered pieces of raw meat” to Osama bin Laden. Each is in a different stage of mental psychosis, fueled by their incurable need for power over people that don’t care what they have to say.

So Qazi Hussain and other MMA leaders have called for a national strike on Tuesday to protest the military’s action in Bajaur. Please grow up! Every time someone does something that you don’t agree with, you call for a strike, which looks like nothing more to me than sheer laziness and attention grabbing. Further to that, when the entire NWFP provincial assembly is made up of elected MMA officials, not one person has resigned. From a National Assembly, where the MMA has a significant number of seats, only 2 people have resigned. How about all of you resign and we rid this government of your extremist ways?

Save your fatwas for someone who actually believes in the perverted Islam you teach.

Save your religious fervor for the idiots in the madrassas that actually believe that you are leaders and not ignorant extremists.

You are no different that George Bush and his Jesus Freak religious right.

Same bull, different religion!

Also, I also completely expect to see former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, now living in London, making a statement that this act was uncalled for and that the Musharraf government should resign. Nawaz Sharif, mind you, is in exile from Pakistan for stealing over US$ 1.5 billion from the national exchequer, trying to hijack and divert the Chief of Army Staff’s plane from Karachi to India. He ran away from Pakistan rather than serve a jail sentence for his crimes through a deal negotiated by the Saudi Arabian government, which last week kicked him and his family out of Saudi Arabia for violating the terms of the agreement that gained his freedom.

This will, of course, be followed by a statement from another exiled Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, who will echo the words of Nawaz Sharif and demand that the people rise up and remove the military government. Ms. Bhutto has been in exile from Pakistan for almost 9 years to avoid the corruption cases that were brought against her and her husband, Asif “Mr. 10%” Zardari, during the Nawaz Sharif government. But Ms. Bhutto, were you not responsible for Operation Clean Up in Karachi, where you used the military to murder 15,000 middle class Pakistani citizens that were members of a rival political party?

Please spare us your political rhetoric. In my view, if you come out in support of the extremists, you are an extremist. Pakistan is tired of being held hostage by religocrats, mullahs and thieves. Each one of these so-called leaders cry that they want to see a stronger Pakistan, but when they are part of the government the only thing that they are interested in is pushing Pakistan backwards and filling their pockets. Wake up and smell the coffee! Pakistanis don’t want your kind back in our country! When the going got tough, you ran away. And if you doubt it, please read the comments that were posted on the Guardian website when Benazir Bhutto dared to write an article about the failings of the Musharraf government and why she was better for a democratic Pakistan.

In the end, this will be a repeat of the Akbar Bugti affair. The political outcasts will scream and threaten to resign in an attempt unseat the government. But at the end of the day, no one will resign, no one will change and Pakistan will move forward. This time with a clear message sent to the extremists… shape up or face the consequences! You are not above the law.

Pakistan First!

Related posts:

1. Say It Ain’t So Nic Robertson - Part I
2. Pakistan Not Doing Enough?
3. Craig Cohen Online at the Washington Post
4. How To Squeeze Jihadi Culture Out of Pakistan - Vali Nasr
5. Hudood Ordinance
6. Re-Orienting Pakistan - Dr. Hasan-Askari Rizvi
7. Is Pakistan’s New President Up to the Job?

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