سامراجی جنگ،ترقی کا راستہ اور لیفٹ | Shahzad Arshad

شمالی وزیرستان میں آپریشن کا باقاعدہ اعلان15جون کو کیا گیا ہے ۔ میڈیا عوام میں جنگی جنون پیدا کررہا ہے، حکمران طبقہ اس جنگ میں متحدہ ہوگیا۔یوں اس آپریشن کے نتیجے میں جنم لینے والے المیہ کو میڈیا پیش نہیں کررہا اور اس پر صرف طالبان اور غیر ملکی دہشت گردوں کے مرنے کی خبریںآرہی ہیں۔کراچی ائیرپورٹ پر حملہ کے بعدسے ایسی فضاء بن گی تھی،جس میں ریاست کی رٹ کو تسلیم نہ کرنے اور مذاکرات کی ناکامی کے اعلان کے بعد فوجی آپریشن شروع کردیا گیا۔

ہماری جنگ
حکمران طبقہ اسے ہماری جنگ بنا کر پیش کررہا ہے ہے،ایسا لگ رہا ہے شمالی وزیرستان کی بجائے کراچی،اسلام آباد اور لاہور پر حملہ ہوگیا ہے،میڈیا خوف کی فضاء بناکر آپریشن کی حمایت پیداکررہا ہے،حکمران طبقہ اس جنگ میں اکھٹا ہے،عمران خان اور جماعت اسلامی کی سامراج اور جنگ مخالفت بھی کھل کر سامنے آگئی ہے۔لیکن اس سب کے باوجود سماجی صورتحال نئے تضادات کو جنم دئے رہی ہے قادری کی آمد سے حکمرانوں کے خوف کی وجہ سماجی عدم استحکام ہے،جو کسی بھی وقت ایک انقلابی ابھار کو جنم دئے سکتا ہے اور یہی تضادات فوجی مداخلت کو بھی جنم دے سکتا ہے۔

ترقی اور آپریشن
حکمران طبقہ اس آپریشن کو ایک فیصلہ کن آپریشن بتارہا ہے کہا جارہا کہ اس آپریشن میں اچھے اور برے طالبان میں تمیز نہیں ہوگئی،وہ کہتے ہیں کہ جب تک امن نہیں ہوگا ملک میں غیرملکی سرمایہ کاری نہیں آگئی اور یوں ترقی ممکن نہیں ہوگی۔لحاظ یہ آپریشن پاکستان کی سلامتی اور اس کی ترقی کے لیے ضروری ہے۔ریاست یہ بتا رہی ہے کہ فوجی آپریشن سے ہی ترقی اور آزادیوں کا تحفظ ممکن ہے۔یعنی جب لاکھوں بے گھر ہوں اور سینکڑوں مارے جائیں۔تو پاکستان ترقی کرئے گا اور جمہوریت کا دفاع ممکن ہوگا۔بنگال میں فوجی آپریشن بھی مکتی باہنی کی وحشت اور انڈیا کی سازش کے خلاف کیا گیا تھا۔یہی سب بلوچستان اور سندھ میں جاری ہے اور ہر آپریشن میں عام سندھی،بلوچ اور پختون ہی مارجاتے ہیں۔

سامراج کی جنگ
حکمران طبقہ اس کو پاکستان کی جنگ قرار دے رہا ہے لیکن حقیقت میں یہ سامراج کے مفادات اور قبضے کی جنگ ہے،جس میں ناکامی کی وجہ سے یہ اس کو پھیلا رہا ہے۔وہ جنگ جو پہلے افغانستان تک محدود تھی۔اب یہ قبائلی علاقوں میں لڑی جاری ہے اور اس کی تپش بڑے شہروں میں بھی محسوس ہورہی ہے۔حکمران طبقہ کے تمام ترپروپیگنڈے کے باوجود حقیقت یہ ہے کہ موجود آپریشن میں اہم کردار امریکی امداد کا ہے جس کی منظوری شمالی وزیرستان میں آپریشن سے وابستہ ہے۔ آپریشن کے دوران ڈروان حملے اس صورتحال کو مزیدواضح کررہے ہیں۔

تقسیم اور جنگیں
ایک طرف شمالی وزیرستان میں بمباری جاری ہے تو دوسری طرف سندھ،پنجاب اور بلوچستان میں ان کے داخلے پر پابندی عائد کردی گئی۔جوریاستی جبرکے شکار ہیں ان کو ہرطرح سے ذلیل و خوار کرنے کا بندوبست کیا جارہا ہے۔چیکنگ ایک بہانہ ہے،ڈان اخبارکے مطابق پختون عوام جو فوجی آپریشن کی وجہ سے بے گھر ہورہے ہیں ،ان کی شہروں میں آمد کو پولیو کے خطرے سے جوڑا رہا ہے۔تاکہ متاثرین کی آمد روکی جاسکتے۔یہ نسل پرستانہ تعصب کو ہوا دیناہے تاکہ محنت کش عوام کو تقسیم کیاجاسکے۔

مارکسسٹ اور دہشت گردی
مارکسٹ کراچی ائیر پورٹ،اہل تشیع ،دیگر مذاہب سے تعلق والوں اور عام لوگوں پر خودکش حملوں کی مذمت کرتے ہیں اور اس کے خلاف ہیں۔لیکن ہم فوجی آپریشن کی حمایت نہیں کرتے جس نے دہشت گردی کو ختم کرنے کی بجائے اس کو مزید پھلایا ہے۔یوں بھی اس آپریشن کا مقصد طالبان کے جبر کی جگہ ریاست کے جبر کو مسلط کرنا ہے۔

سرمایہ داری کی ناکامی اور انتہا پسندی
ان حالات میں مارکسٹوں پر لازم ہے کہ وہ صبر کے ساتھ واضح کریں کہ انتہاپسندی کی وجہ وہ مادی حالات ہیں جن میں ریاست نے نیولبرل ازم کے تحت عوام سے اپنا ناطہ مکمل طور پر ختم کرلیا ہے اور وہ سرمایہ دارنہ مفادات کی مکمل ترجمان بن کر سامنے آئی ہے اور جس سے محنت کش عوام کی زندگی اذیت ناک ہوگئی ہے اورقبائلی علاقے جو مرکز سے دور ہونے کی وجہ سے ہمیشہ ’’ترقی ‘‘سے محروم اورپچھلے30سالوں سے سامراجی جنگ کا شکار ہے جس میں نئی نسل نفرت میں پل کر جوان ہورہی ہے۔جب وہ خود پر جنگ مسلط ہوتا دیکھتے ہیں اور اس کی مخالفت نہیں ہوتی تو پھر ان کے پاس طالبان کی وحشت کا آپشن ہی ہوتا ہے۔لہذا ضرورت اس امر کی ہے کہ شہری محنت کش دہشت مخالف جنگ کے خلاف خاموشی ختم کرکے احتجاج منظم کریں۔

لبرل اور لیفٹ
لبرلز دہشت مخالف جنگ کے آغاز سے ہی اس کی حمایت کررہے ہیں۔اس کا ایک اظہار ہے این جی اوز کی طرف سے آیا،جنہوں نے اس فوجی آپریشن کی مکمل حمایت کا یقین دلایا ،حیران کن بات یہ ہے کہ ہیومن راٹیس کمیشن آف پاکستان نے بھی آپریشن کی حمایت کا اعلان کیا ہے۔حالانکہ یہ ادارے جنگ اور انسانی حقوق کی خلاف ورزیوں پر آواز اٹھاتے ہیں۔
لیکن لیفٹ کی طرف سے آپریشن کی حمایت نہایت ہی شرمناک ہے۔ عوامی ورکرز پارٹی کی مرکزی قیادت کی طرف سے فوجی آپریشن کی حمایت حقیقت میں انکی اصلاح پسند سیاست کانتیجہ ہے جس میںیہ سرمایہ داری نظام اور اس کی ریاست کے خلاف جدوجہد کی بجائے اس نظام میں ہی حل دیکھتی ہے ۔ان کے لیے ترقی اور جمہوریت سرمایہ دارنہ نظام اور اس کی ریاست سے وابستہ ہے۔یوں سامراجی جنگ کے خلاف کے تضاد میں آنے والوں پر فوجی آپریشن کے حامی بن کر انوکھی ’’سامراج مخالفت‘‘ کرتے ہیں۔

جبکہ CMKPاورلال بینڈکے نزدیک شمالی وزیرستان میں آپریشن ’’آزادی کا آپریشن ‘‘ہے۔ان کا مواقف ہے کہ ریاست نے اپنے تجربے سے سیکھا ہے اور اب وہ ایک فیصلہ کن جنگ لڑ رہی ہے لحاظ ہمیں اس کی حمایت کرنا چاہیے۔یہ حکمران طبقہ کی طرف سے نسل پرستی کے فروغ کو پنجاب میں آپریشن قرار دے رہے ہیں۔

جنگ اور مارکسی مخالفت
پہلی جنگ عظیم میں بالشویکوں نے روسی ریاست کی جانب سے جنگ کی مخالفت کی تو انہیں روس میں شدید مخالفت کا سامنا کرنا پڑا۔لیکن آخرکار انہوں نے حکمران طبقہ کی جنگ کو حکمرانوں کے خلاف جنگ میں بدل دیا۔ضرورت اس امر کی ہے کہ ہم اس جنگ مخالف روایات کو پاکستا ن میں منظم کریں۔

ہمیں سوشلزم کو سرمایہ دارنہ نظام کے متبادل پیش کرنا ہوگا،اس آپریشن کے خلاف سیاسی جدوجہد کو تعمیر کرنا ہوگی اور یوں محنت کش طبقہ اور دیہی غریبوں کی قیادت کو سامنے لاکر ہی ہم حقیقی معنوں میں سوشلزم کو متبادل بنا سکتے ہیں۔اس وقت سب سے اہم سامراج اورریاست کی مخالفت اور آپریشن کی بربریت کو سامنے لانا اور یہ واضح کرنا کہ کیسے ہر آپریشن کی طرح اس میں بھی طالبان کے نام پر عام پختون نشانہ بن رہے ہیں۔یوں ہی ہم سرمایہ داری کی بربریت اور طالبان کی وحشت کا متبادل پیش کرسکتے ہیں۔

جنگ کے خلاف بڑی عوامی تحریک تعمیر کرکے ہی طالبان کی رجعتی قیادت کو کنارے سے لگایا جاسکتا ہے۔یوں ہی یہ ممکن ہوسکتا ہے کہ حقیقی طالبان مخالف جدوجہد منظم کی جاسکے لیکن اس جدوجہد کو اپنی بنیاد میں جنگ اور سرمایہ داری مخالف ہونا ہوگا

Opposing Zarb-e-Azb | Ayyaz Mallick & Hashim bin Rashid

For the sixth time in ten years, the people of the Tribal Areas are on receiving end of the unleashed fury of one of the largest militaries in the world. Just like the current operation, the preceding five operations against Taliban and assorted militants in the area had also been termed similarly “decisive” but only resulted in greater immiseration and suffering for the people of FATA and PATA, while militant leaders escaped and dispersed over an ever wider area. Meanwhile, the people of FATA have suffered for the last hundred years under policies legitimizing violent pacification and collective punishment. For the last three decades, the region has been used as training ground for the ‘jihad’ franchise run by the Pakistani security establishment in collusion with the US and Saudi Arabia. The general peripheralization of FATA and a regime based on regressive, colonial-era codes (such as the Frontier Crimes Regulation FCR) has resulted in ample space created in the region for the entrance and entrenchment of violent, fundamentalist groups such as the TTP. Moreover, the region’s instrumental treatment by the ruling classes as a “strategic backwater” and launching pad for ‘jihad’ since the 1980s, has resulted in a vast and unregulated war economy which makes the area extremely lucrative for militant groups. For the past decade or so, the people of FATA have found themselves caught between an oppressive triumvirate of violence made up by Taliban and foreign militants, the Pakistan military and American drone attacks. Through all this, their disenfranchisement has reached new levels, a trend amply demonstrated in the continuous cycle of military operations and “talks” conducted with militants without even a semblance of substantive input from the actual stakeholders (i.e. the people of FATA themselves).

As Pakistanis committed to a progressive and pro-people politics, we disavow any violence committed on the subordinate classes, including ethnic and religious minorities, by the Pakistani state, US imperialism or militants (such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan). The Pakistani state and especially the military, far from being part of the solution, are an integral part of and contributors to the problem of religious extremism and militancy. For example, in recent years, even at the cost of widespread misery for the peoples of Pakistan, there is ample evidence that the security establishment has continued to nurture at least some of these groups as proxies in areas such as Balochistan. Moreover, it is no secret that the problem of Islamist militancy in Pakistan is not limited to the TTP nor is it geographically limited to FATA or any other region. It has deep sociological roots in several urban centers (and not just within ethnicised ghettoes in these urban centers). Yet we are supposed to accept the fact that a military operation which specifically targets FATA, and only the TTP and some foreign militants, is an operation against the roots of terrorism.

The Pakistani ruling classes’ imbrications with US imperialism, the general underdevelopment bred under conditions of economic dependency (on institutions such as the IMF) and the security establishment’s nefarious use of militant groups, makes any solution to the problem of religious extremism which goes through the ruling classes, and especially the state’s coercive institutions, extremely unlikely.  Furthermore, both past precedent and current analysis make it clear that not only is there no military solution to this issue, the current operation will not even have the limited effect of undermining the organizational capacity of groups like the TTP. Newspaper reports have already revealed that most militants crossed the border into neighboring regions and Afghanistan even before the operation started[i]. All that this operation is guaranteed to do is create more misery for the people of FATA and neighboring regions.

It is for the aforementioned reasons that we oppose the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan and the rest of the tribal areas, and demand its immediate and unconditional end. This is to be followed by a short and long-term program which returns power back to the people themselves not just in FATA but all over Pakistan. In this regard, our demands can be found here.

The authors are signatories of a statement demanding an end to Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan. The analysis presented here is their own and may not reflect the views of all signatories to the statement.

[i] http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-7-256750-Refugees-anxiously-await-news-of-family, http://tns.thenews.com.pk/zarb-e-azb-fight-to-the-finish/

Questions worth asking | Umair Javed

Dawn | Jun 23. 2014

It must be pointed out, however, that any situation where nearly everyone is ready to cheerlead a military assault — especially one resulting in civilian casualties and mass displacement — is exceptionally unreasonable. What those amongst us actively celebrating this operation need to contemplate is that baying for blood and shrugging off the loss of innocent lives as collateral damage is a primal, borderline fascistic response. All it does is floor the already low level of moral and intellectual debate in the country, and endorse the already dehumanised view of Pakhtuns and other communities living in Fata and its adjoining areas. Full article

On state terrorism | Aasim Sajjad Akhtar

Dawn | Jun 20. 2014 :

Meanwhile jets pound North Waziristan, the security apparatus continues to target nationalists in Balochistan, and polarisation in Sindh shows no sign of abating. So while the ruling clique is fighting within itself for the right to rule Punjab, the rest of the country is marginalised as only peripheral regions can be. Full article

Here we go again, again

The current war of words between the U.S. and Pakistani governments is just the latest installment of the soap opera that is U.S.-Pakistani relations. The pattern is typical, predictable, and actually quite stable: the U.S. makes demands on Pakistan; Pakistan rebuffs the demand; the U.S. responds with “evidence” of Pakistani complicity in fomenting terror (usually in Afghanistan but also in India); Pakistan negotiates on the initial demand, giving in to some of what the U.S. wants but still rejecting some part of the demand.

So too is the case with the latest “revelation” last week by Admiral Mike Mullen and other U.S. officials that the Pakistani government is actively sponsoring terror in Afghanistan via the Haqqani clan. According to this formulation, the Haqqani network is a state asset that is activated by the ISI in order to maintain leverage against Afghanistan and, by extension, the United States. That is seemingly explosive stuff, but predictably, as early as the next day, we were seeing statements by U.S. and Pakistani officials that they were still interested in “working with each other.” And today, we see that the U.S. State Department spokesperson has stated that “State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said that the US government was committed to its relationship with Pakistan and wants to work constructively with Pakistan on the Haqqani Network.” Ah yes, “work constructively” – that lovely phrase that hides the ugliness of just how much pressure is applied to other countries in order to coerce them to do the bidding of the U.S.

On the same day, Republican Senator Mark Kirk did his part to play the role of bad cop by stating that the U.S. government should “cut military assistance to Pakistan in the light of the allegations made by the US administration and military about Pakistan having links with the Haqqani network.” We have lost count of the number of times that Some Important Person or the other has called for cuts to U.S. aid to Pakistan in the last couple of years. It’s amusing to note that despite such threats and protests, the aid continues to flow, mostly in very generous proportions (Pakistan still remains the second largest recipient of U.S. aid, after Israel). Maybe, just maybe, there’s something in it for the Americans?

All of this is certainly not to minimize the sheer venality and, frankly, stupidity of the Pakistan establishment, in its attempt to manipulate various domestic and foreign actors and try to maintain leverage against the U.S. The Army, the ISI, Zardari and the other civilian politicians – they would sell their own mothers down the river before they would do what’s right for the Pakistani people. And sadly it’s the Pakistani people who continue to pay the price of this absurd but very costly soap opera.

Leaders issued court summons in Mehran base attack case

The Sindh High Court has issued notices to a number of political leaders in connection with the case of the attacks on the Mehran naval base in Karachi. Notices have been issued to President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, and most interestingly, Chief of the Armed Services General Kayani. The case is the result of a court petition brought about by a private citizen who alleges that the lapse in security was the responsibility of the named officials.

Another reminder that Pakistan belongs to Military, Inc.

On July 12, the United States announced that it would withhold US$800 million from Pakistan’s aid budget. This was intended to be a Stern Warning to denote that Washington Means Business when it says that it wants the Pakistani Army to do its complete and total bidding. (After all, what did the Army think all of those billions were for?) The truth is that these funds have only been suspended and not canceled, and we can expect that the aid will resume its flow once the Army and the U.S. come to a new agreement on drone strikes, U.S. covert operations and movement of CIA assets within Pakistan, and of course on targeting those factions of the Pakistani Taliban that the U.S. deems a threat. But what has been telling in this minor kerfuffle is the response of the Army establishment (via the statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations agency):

“In line with the position taken in the Pakistan-U.S. strategic dialogue in March 2010, it is being recommended to the government that the U.S. funds meant for military assistance to Army be diverted towards economic aid to Pakistan.”

This is not, of course, a grand gesture on the part of the Army that acknowledges the tremendous drain of resources that the Army places on Pakistani society – resources that would be far better used (even in a strictly neoliberal economic sense, in terms of return on investment) in areas like education, health, and infrastructure. In fact, this is the latest strategy being employed by the Army, which continues to use the elected PPP-led government as a vehicle for advancing its own interests but using the cover of electoral democracy to disguise its actions. What this means is that the PPP government is now very publicly hand-in-glove with the Army, and will dutifully transfer the foreign aid being given to them for non-military purposes over to the Army. This strategy also means that the Army brass has also discerned rather shrewdly the game afoot in Washington. As lawmakers in the U.S. become increasingly hostile to Pakistan, and increasingly start using Pakistan as the scapegoat for failed U.S. foreign policy in the region, calls to suspend military aid to Pakistan will become stronger and stronger. So the Army is simply staying ahead of the rising tide. True, it’s short-term thinking, but that seems counter-productive and illogical only if you don’t assume that ALL the Army cares about it is its own very narrow institutional (and frankly, even very personal individual) interests.

Meanwhile, the Army’s statement also had this to say:

“[The Corps Commanders] reiterated the resolve to fight the menace of terrorism in our own national interest using our own resources.”

Hey, generals, here’s a message for you: those are not YOUR resources. They are the resources of the people of Pakistan, and they rightfully belong to the people of Pakistan. You have no right to them. If you want to play war games, go get your own toys.

 

Kill and Dump: Military Extremism in Balochistan

Guest post: Nosheen Ali

One morning, in August 2006, the dead body of Captain Zameer Abbas was brought back to Gilgit from Balochistan. At that time, I was a visiting faculty member at the Karakoram University in Gilgit, and was living in the university’s girls hostel. Captain Abbas was amongst the 21 security personnel who had died during Musharraf’s military operation against the Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti.

With everyone I met that day – students at the university, staff members at a local NGO, shop-keepers, and taxi drivers – the topic of conversation was the Captain’s death. How Zameer Abbas was just 29 years old when he died. How he had gotten married just last month, and how his mother was now in the hospital. For several days, people were mourning the tragedy that had befallen this respected local soldier and his family.

In bitterness and concealed anger, many criticized the way in which the region’s bodies were being used to implement a warped state agenda. In sheer bewilderment, they wondered how the Pakistani government could use fighter jets and gunship helicopters to openly kill a prominent leader of an already marginalized province. When I talked to the hostel’s female cook about the operation, she said, “Killing one’s own people? Where is such a principle followed? Use of force can never be a solution.”

I was shocked at the fact that this failure of logic and humanity was clearly evident to people around me, but seemed to escape so many in the big cities of Pakistan. The state has to enforce its writ, one heard from even the liberal thinkers. Why would any Balochi respect the state’s writ when the state has become synonymous with gross violations of rule of law? One also heard about the tribalism of Baloch society, and how the sardars were exploiting the poor Baloch. There are exploitations along tribal, biradari, and class lines in the whole of Pakistan. Surely, we wouldn’t advocate state violence as a policy to deal with them? Disconnected and depoliticized, many elite members of society simply didn’t bother to become informed. For them, Musharraf was a great leader who was spearheading economic growth, and must be doing the right thing.

The open killing of the 79-year old Bugti, a former governor and elected chief minister of Balochistan, was a watershed moment that radicalized even ordinary, apolitical Balochis to join the long-standing nationalist movement for regional rights and justice. More than 50,000 Baloch were displaced during the extended military operation surrounding the killing. Even worse, national and international organizations were obstructed from providing humanitarian relief to these IDPs for fear of exposure. When UNICEF came out with a report on the condition of the IDPs, its chief was asked to leave the country and other officials were pressurized to retract their words.

The military operation has only intensified over the last five years, with the most brutal forms of state terror being unleashed in the region today. Reportedly, more than 4,000 people have been illegally abducted and detained by our notorious agencies.  According to the organization Voice for Missing Baloch Persons, around 149 of those missing have been murdered and disposed in what has come to be called a “kill and dump” policy. The dehumanizing nature of the violence is evidenced not just in the ways people are tortured – with drilled holes in the head and bodies mutilated beyond recognition – but also in the way they are discarded. One note accompanying a decomposed corpse said, “Eid gift for the Baloch.”

Those who have been kidnapped, tortured, and killed are not just some armed militants hiding in the mountains. A vast proportion of them are from the urban middle class, including students, engineers, lawyers, journalists, and activists who have been engaging in civilian protest against military atrocities. For their families, the possibilities of justice have also been crushed. As the Guardian reported two months ago, a Baloch farmer went to court to file a case for his missing son but his lawyer was murdered. When he subsequently went to the media, the president of the local press club was murdered. Now, no one wishes to speak up for him.

In this devastating situation, why should we be surprised or offended if Baloch kids refuse to sing the national anthem, and local schools refuse to fly the national flag? Why do we shudder when increasing number of people in Balochistan – including women for the first time – cry “Pakistan murdabad”? Every dead body is an embodiment of Pakistani violence, and a renewed resolve to fight for independence. Burning with anger and retaliation, the armed Baloch groups have also resorted to horrific forms of indiscriminate violence. They used to blow up gas pipelines. Now they do target killings. Punjabi settlers, government servants, even Chinese engineers – any blood that the elite might care about.

To address the situation, the present civilian government had introduced the Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan package in November 2009, promising a ban on new military cantonments, a commission on enforced disappearances, and payment of overdue gas royalties. Exactly what was needed. But the civilian government remains powerless in the face of the forces that continue to run and rampage Balochistan – the ISI, the Military Intelligence, and especially the Frontier Corps (FC). US military aid was meant to train and equip the FC to fight the intrusion of the Taliban into Pakistan. Instead, the FC has given shelter and medical relief to the Taliban in Balochistan, and focused on crushing the Baloch – with the same inhumanity, impunity, and imperial arrogance that we often associate with the US in Iraq or Qaddafi in Libya.

Forty years ago, the eminent sociologist Hamza Alavi wrote that it was the Pakistani army itself which was most threatened by the Bengali demand for regional autonomy. The Awami League, which had an absolute majority in Parliament, was committed to aiding development by decentralizing economic policy-making and reducing military expenditure. Moreover, army cadres were fed the self-perpetuating delusion that Bengali nationalism was “an Indian inspired, Indian financed, and Indian engineered move to disrupt the unity of Pakistan.” This was accompanied by an added delusion – that Bengali nationalism was limited to a small number of intellectuals and politicians, and if they were eliminated, the obedience of the Bengali people would be restored.

These our precisely the twin delusions which were used to drive and justify a systematic campaign of violence against Bengalis in 1971, at the hands of our armed forces and its sponsored JI militants, Al-Badr and Al-Shams. We all know the result. These are precisely the delusions that undergird the current campaign of terror in Balochistan, with new sponsored wings such as Baloch Musla Difai Tanzeem and Sipah-e-Shuhda-e-Balochistan. Additionally, the state is steadily mobilizing extremist Islamic forces to quell the secular Baloch struggle.

Hasn’t the use of radical Islam as “strategic depth” in Afghanistan already landed us as well as our neighbors in extremist depth? Don’t we already have enough blood on our hands? The biggest threat to our sovereignty is neither India nor the US; it’s our own military extremism. We desperately and urgently need to hold our military-intelligence regime accountable, and call for an end to army rule as well as the return of all missing people in Balochistan.

The recognition of political, economic, and cultural rights for constituent regions is fundamental for any federation to survive, and is central to the functioning of a modern democracy. Yet generations of Pakistanis have been made to believe the army-backed logic that extending these rights is the vey antithesis of modern nationhood, because it is tantamount to “provincialism” and destroys Pakistani and Muslim unity. This is our fundamental problem. A positive Pakistani identity can never be based on the repression and denial of the many histories and societies that in fact embody the life and spirit of Pakistan. All we have to do is acknowledge and respect them, instead of killing and dumping them.

A version of this article was published in Express Tribune.  Nosheen Ali is a visiting scholar at the Center for South Asia Studies at UC, Berkeley. To contact Nosheen, please email her at nosheen@berkeley.edu.

Overheard in Pakistan: Army and OBL

For sale! Obsolete Pak Army Radar. Can’t detect US Copter BUT CAN RECEIVE STAR PLUS! ONLY RS. 999!

-SMS

Overheard one-liners. Poetry from the back of the bus. SMS jokes. We’re starting to collect some of our favorites here. Got something to share? Email us at progpak@gmail.com or post it in our comments section.

Overheard in Pakistan: Army and OBL

On the back of a rickshaw: haarn na maar. Fauj so rahi hai.

-SMS

Overheard one-liners. Poetry from the back of the bus. SMS jokes. We’re starting to collect some of our favorites. Got something to share? Email us at progpak@gmail.com or post it in our comments section.