Article: Tribesmen Solute The Americans

Most of the tribesmen consider that US citizens are the most civilised people on this Earth and this is the reason that they have made their country the sole super power. Launching the war on terrorism was not a wrong decision as this menace was threat to the whole humanity, but it has been mishandled by the Bush administration. Tribesmen, though themselves suffered a lot at the hands of terrorists solute the Americans for their posive role.

Just read the Editorial of Pakistan Observer you will see the double standard of Pakistani rulers and so-called journalists. Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool is the latest among those who have spoken about involvement of foreign hand in compounding the law and order situation in the country. Addressing a news conference, he also blamed defunct religious organizations for acts of terrorism that have become a source of concern for all Pakistanis.

The consistency with which we have been hearing about involvement of some foreign hand should leave no doubt in the mind of anybody about the factors behind the deteriorating law and order situation. Interior Minister and spokesman of the Interior Ministry too had earlier hinted at such a possibility and half-hearted denials made later on were not very much convincing. Irrespective of such statements and denials, the fact remains that it was beyond imagination that large-scale and alarming penetration of suicide bombers could take place without any solid tactical and financial backing.

There is widespread perception that some of the major powers were colluding to destabilize Pakistan with the ultimate objective of depriving it of its nuclear capability. Under these circumstances, there is no doubt that some foreign forces are behind the bomb blasts and suicide attacks in different parts of the country but the question is how to deal with them. Mere statements would not resolve the problem and a practical solution would have to be evolved to overcome the challenge. There are reasons to believe that the frequency and intensity of the problem is directly linked to the American interference. That is why we have been cautioning our policy-makers to resist the pressure for direct action by foreign forces overtly or covertly to combat militants or terrorists.

As long as Pakistani forces exclusively carried out operations on our territory the problem was under control but became monster when the impression strengthened that Americans were actively involved in these operations. The problem would remain there until and unless we rely solely on a home grown strategy to address the menace of extremism and terrorism. Secondly, despite rhetoric there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the Government was moving on fast track to initiate developmental activities at massive scale in areas prone to militancy. Thirdly, every effort should be made to enlist support of the local and national religious leadership in weaning away people from misguided elements. And lastly, correction centres should be established in jails to apprise detained militants of the true message of Islam.
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