I have gotten so tired of hearing US Senators complain about how Pakistan isn’t doing enough in the War on Terror. When are you going to stop pointing the finger at other countries to cover your own screw-ups? Your President, State Department and Pentagon repeatedly say that Pakistan is a key ally in the War on Terror, yet your senators and congressmen point the finger at Pakistan saying that they aren’t doing enough. Enough you little crybaby’s!
Let’s look at backward at the history of relations between the United States and Pakistan, before we point fingers of blame. Some of you may recall back in the late 70s, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to expand its borders. The United States, rather than stepping forward like a super power would, cowered behind the Pakistan Army and pumped money into a ruthless military dictator’s hand to fund the Mujahideen and create what is today known as the Taliban. The ruthless military dictator was General Zia Ul Haq, who rose to power by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Zulifqar Ali Bhutto. By the way, for all of you democracy loving Americans, the United States government did nothing to stop the overthrow or hanging of the Pakistani Prime Minister. Instead, it ushered in the General because it served US interests that he rule Pakistan. For 12 years, the mighty US government fought the Soviet Union in the uniform of the Pakistan Army, the Mujahideen and the Taliban. Afghanistan was ravaged. Destroyed. Turned to rubble. Just like it is today…… ahhh the memories of doing more…..
On the behest of the United States government, the Pakistan Army trained Afghanis to serve in the Mujihadeen and the Taliban. So when the US suddenly screams that it has pictures and intelligence that Taliban fighters are being trained in Pakistan, it is because the Pakistanis built those camps to train the militia that was fighting the Soviet Union on the insistance of the US government. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. So…. for 12 years, the mighty US military cowered behind the Pakistan Army because it couldn’t face down the Soviets in Afghanistan.
At the same time, the ruthless general that the US had installed as Pakistan President imposed a extreme Islamic rule on the country causing social and economic development to come to a standstill. General Zia gave rise to the strength of the Mullahs in Pakistani politics. It was during his rule that the controversial Hudood Ordinance was passed, which stripped women of any rights. Mullahs were given a voice in development allowing them to declare something un-Islamic, because they didn’t understand or value it, and it would not happen in Pakistan. Today, these Mullahs are the extremist voice in Pakistan that foster the continued unrest in the NWFP and Balouchistan provinces. They are also the people that wholeheartedly support the Taliban and their cause. Want to know the funny part? Their children are probably sitting next to your child in college. The United States may be the great Satan when it means development for Pakistan, but it is A-OK when it comes to their own families.
Hypocrites!
After the war ended, what did Pakistan get for its wholehearted assistance? We had to absorb millions of Afghan refugees. Educated, uneducated, militant, peaceful, no matter what state they were in, Pakistan had to accept them. We still have at least 3 million of them in the country that refuse to leave or register with the Pakistani government . Granted with the Afghanis the problem is much larger than the refugees. These people who invaded our country, lived off its people and resources and continue to seek refuge in Pakistan would swear at our government for not doing enough for them….. not doing enough…. ahhh the memories of doing more…
They would sit in Pakistan and insult the Pakistanis for not supporting them more in the war with the Soviets, while at the same time flooding our country with US military weapons, drugs and prostitution. Yes, the Afghanis brought some very interesting gifts with them when they invaded Pakistan.
Also, with the end of the war, came the end of the General Zia’s rule as his plane was shot down…. and thus, “democracy” returned to Pakistan. Now, I say “democracy” because I don’t call what happened to Pakistan after Zia democracy in any way. There were elections. There were candidates. Benazir Bhutto won. I understand why. I personally had alot of hope for Pakistan when Benazir was elected. I was living in the United States and was very proud that my home country of Pakistan had elected a woman as Prime Minister. I was more proud when I heard about her background, upbringing and beliefs. She could change Pakistan, I thought. I even joined the Pakistan People’s Party, her party. My hope disappeared quickly.
I have written at length about Benazir and her government, so I am not touching it here. But after Benazir, we got Nawaz Sharif…. what?!?!?! I moved to Pakistan towards the end of Nawaz Sharif’s rule in Pakistan and was more than happy to see it end. His agenda was a simple one point plan: what do I get? Thank you and goodbye.
We had a broken country whose people were struggling to survive. We had a broken economy that “only the rich got rich and the poor stayed poor.” We had a divide along cultural lines between Pathans, Punjabis, Sindhis and Balouchis. We had warlords that violated the writ of the government and laughed at the previous governments because they could not be touched. We had a bureaucracy that was not just broken, but held together by spit and gum. Education in Pakistan was a business, not a field of learning. This is what we got for doing more the last time we answered that call from the United States government.
Thus, brings the leadership of President Pervez Musharaf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. And Pakistan is growing economically, socially and politically, which is a threat to US interests in South Asia. To the US, there can only be one Asian Tiger and that is India…. for now. Our President and Prime Minister have spent the past 7 years healing a nation, its people and the ills of society. They have to do alot of work and established the foundations for the country to grow and prosper. The country is learning democracy, accepting a free media and slowly silencing the extremist voice. The Prime Minister, because of his background in finance has put Pakistan on the road to a clear financial stability and a nation that is no longer dependant on the IMF or World Bank for money to feed its people. We can do that ourselves now, thank you.
So how about this, instead of asking us to do more, why don’t you do more? Act like a super power instead of a little school kid whose ball just got taken away.
Instead of selling us F-16s, how about a few boatloads of textbooks, school equipment and supplies?
Instead of forcing us to struggle with an outdated electrical supply system, why don’t you fund the building of a nuclear power plant in Pakistan, so that we can grow and prosper economically?
Instead of solving the Kashmir conflict and putting an end to the South Asian Arms Race, you choose to foster it by telling India and Pakistan that we need to shore up our defences against the other… while ever increasing the billions of dollars paid to your defence contractors.
Instead of supporting war and conflict, how about focusing on social development and economic enhancements for the people of Pakistan?
How about you support Pakistan like you support Israel? Oh, wait, that’s not possible…. we don’t pay you enough for that…
And while we are at it, instead of telling everyone else to clean up your mess in Afghanistan, how about you do it yourselves? The Afghan Parliament is full of criminals, warlords, former Mujahideen and Taliban, what exactly do you expect them to do? They are the people that the Coalition Forces are supposed to be fighting, if I’m not wrong. But hey maybe it was easier to install a puppet President, a powerless Parliament and a poor excuse for a government in Afghanistan. If anything goes wrong, blame Pakistan. That’s what the Mayor of Kabul does. Yet, when Pakistan says it wants to fence and mine the border areas, everyone screams “Bloody Murder!”
In addition, President Musharaf has, on repeated occasions, said that if the Pakistani government was provided with clear intelligence, they would act on it. Why did it take the US government until this recent trip by Vice President Dick Cheney to reveal that information? Do you think we have an intelligence arm like the CIA in Pakistan that has access to all the facilities that the US government has access to? Please…. you do your part, we will do ours.
Today, Pakistan wakes up and goes to bed in a state of high alert. We have suicide bombers blowing themselves up on our streets. We have car bombs detonating in metropolitan cities. Our judges and elected officials are being assassinated for their support of the Musharaf government cleaning up Pakistan and the War on Terror. Can you name the last suicide bomber in the United States? How about a car bomb in your metropolitan cities? Any officials assassinated for supporting George Bush? No?
Then don’t tell us we aren’t doing enough.
We have already learned the lessons of doing more and are still healing a nation and its people for doing more for the United States.
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One Comment
Hi Khalid. Ah, my friend, what can I say? May One World open the eyes of the blind and concentrate our gaze on a central problem we all share.
The American goverenment only does what it is told to do by the Council on Foreign Relations. The CFR only does what it is told to do by those I have named in my book.
Our world is now run by criminals.