Why We Must Unite Against the US-Led War on Terror in Pakistan

Ever since Musharraf launched the first incursions into Waziristan in 2002, the military offensives have been controversial, heavy-handed, and extralegal. The recent operations in Bajaur and Swat raise new concerns. Instead of risking loss of ground troops, the top military brass has shifted focus to aerial bombing. Entire villages have been uprooted, creating the largest IDP crisis in our history. As our State bombs Pukhtunwa to a pulp, it relies on our unwillingness to object–to stay silent as our leaders exploit our fear of “Talibanization” to legitimize an illegal and cruel war.
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While we recognize the danger and threat of these militants, we do not believe this war will bring peace. The War on Terror has become a war of terror–a war of destruction, and loss of blood of the rural poor of the Northwest. We must remember that militant insurgencies arise in specific historical and social context. During and after the Afghan-Soviet War in the 1980s, money, arms, and training were thrown at the region by the United States. Violence became normalized. A pattern that was instituted then – intelligence agencies’ funded proxies jostling for regional control remains in effect today.

Presently, Central Asia is geo-strategically invaluable. American and NATO planners have been publicly casting their eyes over these areas with the intention of checking China and India’s impending rise, as well as Russia’s reassertiveness. Internally, we must analyse the poverty and desperation in FATA and the state’s repressive and colonial legal control of the region. This dialectic—the importance of understanding local militancy as a consequence of both internal devastation and external interference—should expose the inanity of expecting a War on Terror to expunge the “forces of reaction”, the Taliban, from FATA and NWFP.

A Pilot teach-in by Peoples Resistance on the War in FATA
Sunday, December 28th, 2 pm
PMA House, Karachi


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94 responses to “Why We Must Unite Against the US-Led War on Terror in Pakistan”

  1. farrah k raja Avatar
    farrah k raja

    Barrister Sahab
    I am not accusing you but I appreciate this dialogue.
    Thankyou for taking time out to read and type but most of all to think.
    I hope people will read this and will try to make up their minds and try to understand the situation.

  2. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    that’s right farrah!
    one can follow any ideology with dignity and honour.
    conservative, religious , secular, socialist or moderate.
    but one should not loose honour just for vested interests.

  3. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @roma,

    I asked you before but you declined to give us your
    country and your origin, your takfiri ideas and
    Zionist tactics are to be noticed,

    @ Dr.JawwadKhan,

    could you please let us know about roma & others,if any,
    confronted by Rafay Kashmiri and yourself, was it on a
    blog, if yes then which ?

  4. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @ Mr. roma,

    your language is sick, you sound like moron

  5. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @ Barrister akc,

    your comment dec 23 @11.49 am

    you sound very very RAW these are the same slogans
    that we hear on Indian media, what you have said
    openly in your comment is said with low tone by MQM
    in Sindh, you smell mafia Sir,

  6. Awais Naseer Keyani Avatar

    U r absolutely right when u condemn america! I would say, v should equally condemn our govt. A student org is really doing gud in staging “Amrica Murdabad Muhim” throughout Pakistan, lets join hands with them to bring the word out digitronix and onto the political roads. U all know the name but I would not mention!
    Regards,
    Awais
    http://the-all-rounder.blogspot.com/

  7. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    @Asad ali!
    it is PakNewz.com.
    but i am not agree that he is a big mouth.i prefer to call him sweet mouth(ghee shakar:)

  8. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    Musharraf and the Army submitted and Army still submits to the supreme world power instead of Most Supreme Power. That causing Pakistan to submit to supreme world power. Actually it has been like that for last 60 years or so. Only solution is to submit only to the Most supreme power to save Pakistan. But I highly doubt that is gonna happen if it didn’t happen in the last 60 year or so.

  9. Nadcracker Avatar
    Nadcracker

    Roma:

    I think your CAPS lock is stuck :S

  10. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    @roma!
    whats wrong with you.
    why are you such a pain in the ass?

  11. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @Dr.Jawwadkhan,

    oh yes, rafay kashmiri is indeed a sweet mouthed,
    particularly, he loves Indians, busy doing dichotomic
    postmortem on Indians, just check
    Indian website sajaforum.org
    on the subject of Natasha Paracha ! and a very good
    article by Arundhati Roy

    as for paknewz.com I think the poor owner could’nt
    bear the agony after your boxing bouts on roma,who
    has apparantly exsausted all his energy !

  12. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    A Jew defends the Taliban, by telling the truth

    http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/2412

  13. DavefromPhilly Avatar
    DavefromPhilly

    After reading the passionate thoughts and discussions on this blog, I’m thankful for a forum where people can discuss their issues with words and not weapons. This is my first comment here, so please bear with me. First, I want to say that I’m a U.S. citizen. That may make many people hate me without even knowing me. I would hope that this is not the case, but I’m a realist. I’m a Buddhist, but have many Christian friends, as well as Muslim friends from Iran, Lebanon, Turkey, and Morocco. I also have very good friends who are Indian and some who are Jewish. We all have our differences, but we respect each others cultures and beliefs. I want to say up front that for the last 8 years I have been a strong critic of the Bush administration and their policies. Here in the U.S., many of us are looking forward to a fresh start with Obama and a return to better International relations. Hopefully this will help diminish extremism here (both religious and military). We must also fight against extremism worldwide. If we all don’t wake up soon, there will be nothing left to fight over.

  14. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    @ davefromphilly

    Its all wishful thinking on your part. Obama is just a puppet like many others in USA and many puppets’ puppets (call them slaves if you wish) in Pakistan. Probably more Chaos and killings coming up during his time. I won’t mention corruption because we know its ruling the world.

  15. roma Avatar
    roma

    dave,

    you are wasting your precious time. this people are incorrigible. even if obama removes every jew from israel tomorrow and give every inch of land back to the arabs, they will still not be satisfied and will find another reason to hate the jews and the americans.

    they might be satisfied if we all convert to muslims and submit our women to a lesser class and start killing the sunnis or the shias depending which side you’re on.

  16. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    @Dave

    Obama can’t and won’t do whatever you have said. Who told you we hate the jew in such a way?

    I don’t want you to convert if you don’t want to and this sunni and shia killing started in Iraq after the War on Iraq.

    I telling and making women wear less and less clothing equalizes them to men or may be give them a greater class.

  17. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    Sorry I meant the above comment @Roma

    Telling and making women wear less and less clothing “doesn’t” equalizes them to men or “doesn’t give them a greater class.

  18. roma Avatar
    roma

    Sorry Arshad I dont think you get my point. No one is talking about women wearing less and less clothes. We are talking about the freedom for women to wear whatever she wants to without fearing her life will be taken by some crazy muslim extremist nut job who has one standard for himself and another standard for women.

    Why do women need be accompanied by a male relative whenever she walks outside her house?

    Why cant a women walk around without covering herself from head to toe?

    Why cant she wear make up if she wants to?

    Why cant girls go to school and be educated?

    Why cant children fly kites or sing songs if they want to?

    why can people have laughter on their faces and joy in their hearts?

    Tell me where in Quran does it say all those things above mentioned is wrong?

    And when you dont find it in the Quran, you make sure to tell your Taliban brothers about it okay?

  19. roma Avatar
    roma

    to paknewz,

    I agree with your new comment policy. frankly it is better than some of the blog sites in the united states. you allow people to truly express their feelings without the fear of being censored and to me that is the genesis of true democracy.

    good job!!! I also agree that you need to warn those who goes off topic and start using abusive language when they dont have an answer to the question. Thanks.

    Bravo.

  20. Khuram Avatar
    Khuram

    I could not read all comments but in your survey you have left out an option on the US led terror war.

    ‘Do you think we are ourselves responsible for where we are?’

  21. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    @Roma

    Where in the world is all that going on? which country in the world has those rules you are asking about?

    1. Minimum guideline for womens clothing in islam is that she is supposed cover everything except face and hand. Thats if we are in true sharia system where we have complete islamic law.

    2. Your question why can’t she wear whatever she wants to?

    Well she can unless she is living under true islamic law with the guideline i mentioned above.

    Also she can’t wear whatever she wants to if she is living under islamic law because when that way she does that she doesn’t get abused. If she walks out topless every man will be looking at her and dreaming about her. I am sure there would be a punishment for this under Islamic law but I don’t know what that would be. Also Don’t you see women being portrayed as objects not just in western media but in media in general. To cover her is to liberate her not the other way around.

    2. I don’t know where you got this make up thing? You must have heard it on the news media.

    3. You must have heard in the media that Islam forbids women’s education. Its nowhere in Islam i.e Quran and Sunnah. Islam tells everybody to get educated if they are muslims.

    4. And thanks for killing so many people in Iraq and Afghanistan tell that to Bush for me in the name of civilization and peace (actually for oil and control).

    5. Nowhere that I know Islam forbids Peace and Joy.

    6. Islam is a way of life. It gives you a way to live the short lives that we all get.

    7. I wish I could give you an example of a country that really implements Islamic laws and has ruler that follow true Islam, so I could truly prove you wrong but I can’t.

    8. I bet you can’t provide me with a name of country where there is complete peace and prosperity. And everybody is happy. No body in debt not paying their interest laced payments.

  22. roma Avatar
    roma

    Arshad you said “. If she walks out topless every man will be looking at her and dreaming about her. I am sure there would be a punishment for this under Islamic law but I don’t know what that would be.”

    first of all women dont simply walk around topless not even in the western coutries but even if she did and the man are looking at her and dreaming of her, why not punish the man for looking and dreaming of her? why punish her?

    TELL ME WHERE IN THE QURAN DOES IT SAY A WOMEN MUST COVER HERSELF EXCEPT FOR FACE AND HAND?

    yes i agree with you about bush waging war for oil. i dont like him either so what you want to do about it? if bush was such a bad man, why is pakistan taking 1 billion every year from usa and helping america with the war on afghanistan huh?

    I agree that no where in the Quran it forbids laughther and joy and flying kites and children singing and girls being educated and wearing make up…..etc etc But please dont tell me this, TELL IT TO YOUR AL-QAEDA AND TALIBAN BROTHERS. they are the ones who are giving islam a bad name, not me. not you.

  23. roma Avatar
    roma

    Arshad you said “. If she walks out topless every man will be looking at her and dreaming about her. I am sure there would be a punishment for this under Islamic law but I don’t know what that would be.”
    first of all women dont simply walk around topless not even in the western coutries but even if she did and the man are looking at her and dreaming of her, why not punish the man for looking and dreaming of her? why punish her?
    TELL ME WHERE IN THE QURAN DOES IT SAY A WOMEN MUST COVER HERSELF EXCEPT FOR FACE AND HAND?
    yes i agree with you about bush waging war for oil. i dont like him either so what you want to do about it? if bush was such a bad man, why is pakistan taking 1 billion every year from usa and helping america with the war on afghanistan huh?

    I agree that no where in the Quran it forbids laughther and joy and flying kites and children singing and girls being educated and wearing make up…..etc etc But please dont tell me this, TELL IT TO YOUR AL-QAEDA AND TALIBAN BROTHERS. they are the ones who are giving islam a bad name, not me. and probably not you.

  24. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    “why not punish the man for looking and dreaming of her?
    why punish her?

    hey roma!
    you are such a moron.lolz hahahahhah

  25. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    “A Jew defends the Taliban, by telling the truth

    http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/2412

    did you read that above. How can we say we heard the truth from people who wanted to take control of Afghanistan and Iraq and who control the media.

    There is a Prophet’s saying about it.

    Here is the website for hijab:

    http://www.islam1.org/khutub/Hijab.htm

  26. Arshad Khan Avatar
    Arshad Khan

    @Roma the above is for your questions also.

    You said “yes i agree with you about bush waging war for oil. i dont like him either so what you want to do about it? if bush was such a bad man, why is pakistan taking 1 billion every year from usa and helping america with the war on afghanistan huh?”

    Its a very difficult question. That probably needs alot of investigation by muslims and muslim scholars. I think its a verg good. The bigger question is ” Why do muslims and muslims countries follow “west’s way” though they (muslims) claim to have their own way “Islam” and west has its “west’s way”?”.

    By the way “west’s way” is ruling the world. In case you didn’t know that.

    Let me try to answer in short:

    Problem with Pakistan is we wear the “Mask” of Islam and follow commands from west and in reality follow “west’s way”. Like I said before Islam doesn’t exist in countries I mean true Islamic law and pious leaders atleast. It (Islam) I am sure exists in few people of this world not many. I am not one of them to be honest.

    So you are gonna ask me why are you against the “west’s way”?

    My reasons are:

    1. Its financial system which is interest based system (West knows that Islam is big threat at least in their hearts because Islam is against interest and totally forbids Interest. Which is west’s way of controlling the world)

    2. Abuse of women in diguise of freedom of women.

    3. There might be others but I can only think of this right now.

  27. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @ roma,

    what is your business by puting up such ignorant
    questions, being a non-muslim.
    your style is very zionist ? mr Shoaib Akhtar,

  28. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @Dr.jawwadkhan,

    you were right, roma has some pathological problems,
    his comment of 30 dec @ 7.06 am is revealing some,
    nafsiyati deficiency, he is a moron ! no doubt.
    who is true-paki, guess ?

  29. roma Avatar
    roma

    jawwad,

    instead of calling me names like a child why dont you simply answer the question? my question is when a man looks at a women with adultery or fornication in his mind and subsequently leading to actions that carries out what was in his mind such as rape or molestation, what has the women got to do with the sinful thoughts and actions of the men? why punish her?

    when a women gets raped, why does islam punish her and not the man? they say when a women gets raped, there need to be 3 or 4 male witnesses to testify in support of her. Now let me ask you an intellectual question which you may or may not be able to answer.

    When was the last time you heard in the news a women getting raped while 3 or 4 or more witnesses are standing by and watching? If there were more than 1 person committing the act, they all would be part of the rape and not simply standing by and watching would they?

  30. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    sorry roma dear!
    i couldn’t hold myself.
    please carry on. sorry for interuption.
    ask arshad khan because my brain has become “DAHI” due to answering your question.

  31. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @ roma your questions are wrongly directed, ask

    Kashmiri muslimah victims of rape by Indian Army, or

    your zionist godfathers of Isarel and your American

    exterminators, don’t try to deviate attention from

    the crimes against humanity commited by your cogenetics.

    Next time I will be more harsh.!!pls. don’t waste our

    time asking silly, naive and Mirzaiin nonsense.

  32. roma Avatar
    roma

    Is that the best Jawwad and Asad could do whenever you both dont have an answer to a question? Even a doctor cannot answer a simple question but resort to childish name callings.

    Only weak men resort to violence to show their strength and ignorance. And that exactly sounds like the both of you.

    Keep up the good job. Dont worry, Allah is not on your side. HE is ashamed to call you both true followers. Cant even defend your believes but you want the whole world to follow it. WHAT A SHAME.

  33. roma Avatar
    roma

    Hey so what do you think about Israel destroying your Hamas brothers in Gaza? I’m sure you people disagree and will condemn the jews no matter what they do or dont do even if it means defending themselves from rockets that are cowardly launched by people like you.

    But I’m glad Israel is going all out this time to get rid of this cancer hopefully forever. but of course as long as the iranians, saudis and the rich muslim countries keep smuggling money and rockets into the gaza strip. there will be new born terrorist everyday to fight their dirty unholy war.

  34. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  35. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    sale ne na sirif dimagh ka dahi banaya balkey dimagh ki muth bhi laga di.

  36. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @ roma,

    now you discovered, Israeli and Indian Raw are
    working together to exterminate muslims, you keep on
    calling muslims as terrorist, why don’t you tolerat
    that the others calling you zoinist or Mirzai ??
    are they exempted from all Human crimes ? and since
    when?

    Zionists a Raw have a longterm fixed deposit certificate
    from God that they will be protected eternally ?

  37. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @roma,

    since your are a non-muslim who is anti-Islam,

    you keep on imposing questions, but nobody has ever

    asked you , then you answer your own questions. You are

    certainly victim of a pathology.

    these are the tactics of fanatics Mirzais and Bahai’s

    Guess who said the following :

    ” I am better than Jesus Christ who was
    a wine-bibber, a foul-mouthed liar and
    had a predilection for the society of harlots ”

  38. Asad Ali Avatar
    Asad Ali

    @roma,

    since you are a non-muslim who is anti-Islam,

    you keep on imposing questions, but nobody has ever

    asked you , then you answer your own questions. You are

    certainly victim of a pathology.

    these are the tactics of fanatics Mirzais and Bahai’s

    Guess who said the following :

    ” I am better than Jesus Christ who was
    a wine-bibber, a foul-mouthed liar and
    had a predilection for the society of harlots ”

    One thing else, you guys have protection of Israel
    just like Bahai’s and you both are in Haifa, no wonder
    if Hazbullah knows exactly how to target you all evils.

    rest assure we are going to get you bastards, Nazis,
    Hitler’s chromosomes, cowards.

    Have some other very interesting quotations from
    Mirza !

  39. roma Avatar
    roma

    hey i have a great idea! why don’t you and jawwad get together and blow up some infidels and i will tell your heroism/martyrdom story to the world. lets start with the infidels who call themselves Taliban.

  40. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    @roma!
    why don’t you give me your name,adress, phone no and e mail adress so we can finalise the plan of blowing up infidels.

  41. roma Avatar
    roma

    No thanks. Unlike people like YOU. I love and value the life God has given me.
    I see the world a little different than you do Jawwad. It’s not as gloomy as you may make it to be. There are plenty of beauty in it. You just need to open your eyes and your mind and your heart to all possibilities.

  42. dr.jawwadkhan Avatar
    dr.jawwadkhan

    you are wrong about us. we do love and care this prescious gift but many of us want to live the life with dignity and honour.this is the biggest problem with the muslim world.

    muslims are victims of brutal state terrorism,genocide, ethnic cleansing, islmo phobia and media trial.
    the relationship between you people and us is the relation between action and reaction.
    you use “silenced weapon” against muslims this is the action and we scream out of pain.this is the reaction and because the “civilized world” hate the loud noises you people find us guilty as charged.
    well…you enjoy the beauty of this world.
    i believe we will enjoy in hereafter.

  43. roma Avatar
    roma

    jawwad,

    you said muslims are victims of brutal state terrorism, genocide, ethnic cleansing, islamo phobia and media trial?

    please explain.

    The last time i checked there are many islam countries that live in peace with the rest of the world like Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and none of this countries are calling for the destruction of the western civilization and for all the non-believers to be killed.

    It is your peoples philosophy that says only Islam is the true religion and the only religion that all people in the world must belong to. No other religion or society believes that. so where is the persecution coming from?

  44. Bangash Khan Avatar

    War on terror is Pakistan’s own war and is necessary for our survival. The militants only understand the language of force.