D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
Facts about terrorist Islam and Muslims:
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
A False Choice for Pakistan
By Benazir Bhutto
THE WASHINGTON POST
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page A13
Last month President Bush told Gen. Pervez Musharraf of
Pakistan that he must be more aggressive in hunting down
al-Qaeda and the Taliban along his country's border with
Afghanistan. During his recent visit [1] to Islamabad, Vice
President Cheney echoed the claim that al-Qaeda members
were training in Pakistan's tribal areas and called on
Musharraf to shut down their operations. British Foreign
Secretary Margaret Beckett also expressed concern recently
about suspected terrorist safe havens.
Clearly, the pressure is on. Western leaders are finally
beginning to recognize that Musharraf's regime has been
unsuccessful in taming the Taliban, which has regrouped [2]
in the tribal areas of Pakistan while the military regime
has given up trying to establish order on the Afghan
border. At the same time, the regime has strategically
chosen to help the United States when international
criticism of the terrorists' presence becomes strident. The
arrest [3] of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a top Taliban
strategist, by Pakistani authorities late last month is a
case in point. The timing, right on the heels of American
and British pleas for renewed toughness, is too convenient.
Akhund was arrested solely to keep Western governments at
bay.
There are other political calculations in all of this. For
too long, the international perception has been that
Musharraf's regime is the only thing standing between the
West and nuclear-armed fundamentalists.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Islamic parties
have never garnered more than 13 percent in any free
parliamentary elections in Pakistan. The notion of
Musharraf's regime as the only non-Islamist option is
disingenuous and the worst type of fear-mongering.
Much has been said about Pakistan being a key Western ally
in the war against terrorism. It is the fifth-largest
recipient of U.S. aid -- the Bush administration proposed
$785 million in its latest budget. Yet terrorism around the
world has increased. Why is it that all terrorist plots --
from the Sept. 11 attacks, to Madrid, to London, to Mumbai
-- seem to have roots in Islamabad?
Pakistan's military and intelligence services have, for
decades, used religious parties for recruits. Political
madrassas -- religious schools that preach terrorism by
perverting the faith of Islam -- have spread by the tens of
thousands.
The West has been shortsighted in dealing with Pakistan.
When the United States aligns with dictatorships and
totalitarian regimes, it compromises the basic democratic
principles of its foundation -- namely, life, liberty and
justice for all. Dictatorships such as Musharraf's suppress
individual rights and freedoms and empower the most extreme
elements of society. Oppressed citizens, unable to
represent themselves through other means, often turn to
extremism and religious fundamentalism.
Restoring democracy through free, fair, transparent and
internationally supervised elections is the only way to
return Pakistan to civilization and marginalize the
extremists. A democratic Pakistan, free from the yoke of
military dictatorship, would cease to be a breeding ground
for international terrorism.
Indeed, Pakistan's return to democracy is essential to
America's success in South and Central Asia, as well as in
the Middle East, as democratization is an integral part of
fighting terrorism. Wouldn't it therefore be prudent to tie
aid money to genuine political reform?
Pakistan must take steps toward hunting down al-Qaeda
operatives in the "ungovernable" tribal and border areas --
which were once successfully governed by democratically
elected civilian governments. The regime must also stop its
intimidation tactics of recent weeks, which include brutal
murders, assassination attempts and other attacks on
opposition party members.
Of course Musharraf's regime, to legitimize its coup and
divert attention from the institutionalized corruption of
the military, accuses Pakistan's secular, democratic
parties of corruption. But according to Transparency
International, 67 percent of the people believe the regime
is corrupt, surpassing the rate for past civilian
governments. Musharraf's regime has lasted twice as long as
any civilian government in Pakistan. Yet not one of its
ministers or key political supporters has been
investigated.
The National Accountability Bureau has persecuted
opposition leaders for a decade on unproven corruption and
mismanagement charges, hoping to grind them into
submission. However, when politicians accused of corruption
cross over to the regime, the charges miraculously
disappear. Musharraf's regime exploits the judicial system
as yet another instrument of coercion and intimidation to
consolidate its illegitimate power. But the politics of
personal destruction will not prevent me and other party
leaders from bringing our case before the people of our
nation this year, even if that could lead to imprisonment.
In his State of the Union address [4] in January, President
Bush said, "The great question of our day is whether
America will help men and women in the Middle East to build
free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And
I say, for the sake of our own security: We must."
This holds true for countries in South and Central Asia as
well. Now is the time to force Pakistan's government to
make good on its promise to return to democracy.
The writer is chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party and
served as prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and
from 1993 to 1996. She lives in exile in Dubai.
[1]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600873.html
[2]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022700174.html
[3]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030200844.html
[4]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301075.html
More at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101046.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
A False Choice for Pakistan
By Benazir Bhutto
THE WASHINGTON POST
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page A13
Last month President Bush told Gen. Pervez Musharraf of
Pakistan that he must be more aggressive in hunting down
al-Qaeda and the Taliban along his country's border with
Afghanistan. During his recent visit [1] to Islamabad, Vice
President Cheney echoed the claim that al-Qaeda members
were training in Pakistan's tribal areas and called on
Musharraf to shut down their operations. British Foreign
Secretary Margaret Beckett also expressed concern recently
about suspected terrorist safe havens.
Clearly, the pressure is on. Western leaders are finally
beginning to recognize that Musharraf's regime has been
unsuccessful in taming the Taliban, which has regrouped [2]
in the tribal areas of Pakistan while the military regime
has given up trying to establish order on the Afghan
border. At the same time, the regime has strategically
chosen to help the United States when international
criticism of the terrorists' presence becomes strident. The
arrest [3] of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a top Taliban
strategist, by Pakistani authorities late last month is a
case in point. The timing, right on the heels of American
and British pleas for renewed toughness, is too convenient.
Akhund was arrested solely to keep Western governments at
bay.
There are other political calculations in all of this. For
too long, the international perception has been that
Musharraf's regime is the only thing standing between the
West and nuclear-armed fundamentalists.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Islamic parties
have never garnered more than 13 percent in any free
parliamentary elections in Pakistan. The notion of
Musharraf's regime as the only non-Islamist option is
disingenuous and the worst type of fear-mongering.
Much has been said about Pakistan being a key Western ally
in the war against terrorism. It is the fifth-largest
recipient of U.S. aid -- the Bush administration proposed
$785 million in its latest budget. Yet terrorism around the
world has increased. Why is it that all terrorist plots --
from the Sept. 11 attacks, to Madrid, to London, to Mumbai
-- seem to have roots in Islamabad?
Pakistan's military and intelligence services have, for
decades, used religious parties for recruits. Political
madrassas -- religious schools that preach terrorism by
perverting the faith of Islam -- have spread by the tens of
thousands.
The West has been shortsighted in dealing with Pakistan.
When the United States aligns with dictatorships and
totalitarian regimes, it compromises the basic democratic
principles of its foundation -- namely, life, liberty and
justice for all. Dictatorships such as Musharraf's suppress
individual rights and freedoms and empower the most extreme
elements of society. Oppressed citizens, unable to
represent themselves through other means, often turn to
extremism and religious fundamentalism.
Restoring democracy through free, fair, transparent and
internationally supervised elections is the only way to
return Pakistan to civilization and marginalize the
extremists. A democratic Pakistan, free from the yoke of
military dictatorship, would cease to be a breeding ground
for international terrorism.
Indeed, Pakistan's return to democracy is essential to
America's success in South and Central Asia, as well as in
the Middle East, as democratization is an integral part of
fighting terrorism. Wouldn't it therefore be prudent to tie
aid money to genuine political reform?
Pakistan must take steps toward hunting down al-Qaeda
operatives in the "ungovernable" tribal and border areas --
which were once successfully governed by democratically
elected civilian governments. The regime must also stop its
intimidation tactics of recent weeks, which include brutal
murders, assassination attempts and other attacks on
opposition party members.
Of course Musharraf's regime, to legitimize its coup and
divert attention from the institutionalized corruption of
the military, accuses Pakistan's secular, democratic
parties of corruption. But according to Transparency
International, 67 percent of the people believe the regime
is corrupt, surpassing the rate for past civilian
governments. Musharraf's regime has lasted twice as long as
any civilian government in Pakistan. Yet not one of its
ministers or key political supporters has been
investigated.
The National Accountability Bureau has persecuted
opposition leaders for a decade on unproven corruption and
mismanagement charges, hoping to grind them into
submission. However, when politicians accused of corruption
cross over to the regime, the charges miraculously
disappear. Musharraf's regime exploits the judicial system
as yet another instrument of coercion and intimidation to
consolidate its illegitimate power. But the politics of
personal destruction will not prevent me and other party
leaders from bringing our case before the people of our
nation this year, even if that could lead to imprisonment.
In his State of the Union address [4] in January, President
Bush said, "The great question of our day is whether
America will help men and women in the Middle East to build
free societies and share in the rights of all humanity. And
I say, for the sake of our own security: We must."
This holds true for countries in South and Central Asia as
well. Now is the time to force Pakistan's government to
make good on its promise to return to democracy.
The writer is chairwoman of the Pakistan People's Party and
served as prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and
from 1993 to 1996. She lives in exile in Dubai.
[1]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600873.html
[2]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022700174.html
[3]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030200844.html
[4]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301075.html
More at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101046.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.