Article: Pakhtoons the ultimate sufferers in the 'war against terror'

By Abid Jan Razarwal
Peshawar (Pakistan)As the mobile van was going out of the Police Line in Peshawar the police inspector seemed very anxious and was also angry over the policemen sitting backside in the van because they were busy in gossiping. He stopped the van and angrily told the policemen, "Stop gossiping and pray to God, do not you see we are going out of the Police Line to the city." All the policemen suddenly realizing the danger raised their hands for prayers.
The suicide bombers after the Lal Masjid episode have intensified their attacks on the security forces exclusively in the NWFP and tribal areas. The killing of army and policemen has become a routine here.
The situation in other districts of the province and tribal areas is even graver. "Police in Dir have stopped even the routine patrolling in the Bazaars," claimed Sangeen Khan who recently returned from that area.
Though the people of Dir, Bajaur and Swat are very peace loving people but now a bloody war was in the offing in that area.
Terror is going to turn into a full pledged war- decisive war between the terrorists and the forces. However the ultimate sufferers in this war would be the common Dirojis, Bajouris and the Swatis who have nothing with this war.
Whether the political pundits of the country would be of any help to stop this inevitable war?
Though both the Islamist and the nationalist forces term this situation as a backlash of the previous wrong foreign policies of the government and are very vocal in criticizing the government but have no solid plan for coming out of this situation.
The Awami National Party and other nationalist and secular forces term it a repercussion of the policies of late military ruler Gen Mohammad Ziaul Haq whose martial law had got a new lease of life by joining the America-led western war against the former USSR in Afghanistan. They rightfully claim that Ziaul Haq after patronizing the religious political parties at home had gathered hardcore Jihadis from all over the Muslim world to wage a Jihad against the Saur Revolution in Afghanistan and that Jihad was astonishingly funded by the western countries and America. "We were out to tell people at that time that where these Jihadis, brought from every corner of the world, would go when this Jihad is over. They would not evaporate in the air," replied Afzal Khan Lala, an aged leader of ANP to a reporter.
"Bacha Khan had termed it a battle between two bulls and had advised Pakhtoons to keep away from it," the nationalists who had vocally supported the Saur Revolution in Afghanistan would proudly tell you.
On the other hand the long martial law regime of Ziaul Haq was hey day for the religious political parties and they fully involved themselves in the American-led Jihad in Afghanistan.
As a result of this policy during the 80s the NWFP faced a series of bloody bomb blasts killing hundreds of people including women and school children.
The Islamists and the military rulers at that time were blaming the nationalists, KHAD, the Afghan intelligence agency and Al-Zulfiqar for these blasts. Whether it was a backlash of the policies of Islamists and military rulers or else but the ultimate sufferers were Pakhtoons.
The Pakhtoons society was extraordinarily militarized and all the Jihadis who had fought a Jihad in Afghanistan then were dreaming of ruling over it. The klashinkov culture was also introduced to the Pakhtoon society during 80s.
Now when the America has initiated its 'war against terror' Pakistan is once again taking part in it as a frontline state. Pakhtoons are once again the ultimate sufferers.
The nationalist forces rightfully ask the question that those who had implanted the foreign Jihadi in the tribal belt they could also now vacate them but they are not sincere.
However, now once again the clouds of a bloody war are looming large on the horizon of Pakhtoon land.
Though the battle would be definitely between the foreign elements and security forces but the ultimate sufferers would be again the ill fated Pakhtoons.