A Politico-Moral
Dilemma
By Dr Shireen M. Mazari
Important developments continue
to take place in the world, but in Pakistan it is
difficult to move away from the aftermath of the
earthquake given the horrific scale of the destruction
and the continuing aftershocks that prevent any
sense of normalcy from returning, even to the capital.
The month of fasting continues but there is naturally
no joyous anticipation of Eid. Within this emotive
and physical earthquake-dominated psyche, other
political developments, which would normally have
seen strong reactions, are now bringing forth hesitant
responses from some of us.
For instance, the sheer inhumanity of the burning
of Taliban bodies by American soldiers in Afghanistan
once again reflected the dehumanized approach the
US military seems to have developed post-9/11. The
incident, now being subjected to carefully calibrated
US propaganda similar to that which came in the
wake of the Qur’an-abuse episode at Guantanamo
Bay and in response to the revelations of abuse
in Abu Ghraib in Iraq, would normally have triggered
a strongly critical response from many analysts
in the Pakistani press, including this one. But
a dilemma confronts us because the US is providing
tremendous support on all fronts in the earthquake
relief operation.
Of course, the US knows the political value of its
highly visible support in this hour of our need.
While no US political leader has said so, General
Abizaid finally stated US intent when he referred
to the US response to the earthquake in Pakistan:
"The response of the United States of America
is really the face of the United States of America
that everybody should pay attention to." He
went on to add that he hoped the Islamic world would
look to the relief mission in Pakistan for its impressions
of the US. So we should forget Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib,
Qila Jhangvi and the burning of dead bodies of Taliban
fighters and see only the relief efforts of the
US in Pakistan.
It is truly humbling at this time, when some are
seeking to extract political mileage from a human
tragedy, that other less wealthy and less powerful
states are quietly providing far greater succor
to Pakistan and AJK. While some ill-informed commentators
continue to vilify the Muslim world, they need to
do a reality check so as to realize the immense
relief efforts provided by the UAE, Turkey, Iran
and Saudi Arabia -- the first two being the first
arrivals on the scene after the disaster. To date,
Turkey and the UAE not only continue to fly in material
aid but also technical personnel including medical
teams. And how can one forget the selfless Estonians
and the British rescue and medical efforts. And
many more nationals from across the globe who have
been motivated purely by a dedication to humanity.
One has not heard or seen much of the Australians
(apart from a pledge to the UN of $7.5m), who are
so gung-ho about seeking wars all over the globe.
And little has been heard in terms of aid from the
rich Muslim kingdom of Brunei, but there are so
many quiet and dedicated workers from all over the
world that this is simply a time for being grateful
to all of them.
Here one should also accept the fact that many Islamic
groups have also been in the front line of rescue
operations. Our so-called liberals who are so eager
to have us accept aid from India -- and we have
done so -- seem to have an absurdly hysterical approach
regarding the work being done on the ground by the
medical and relief teams of various Islamic religious
organizations. Given the scale of the disaster,
this help has saved many valuable lives. Alongside
the Islamic groups, Christian evangelical organizations
and the Church World Service are also taking part
in relief efforts. At the end of the day they are
all serving the cause of humanity, reaching out
with extraordinary zeal to remote areas and their
beleaguered populations.
But there is another dilemma that has arisen, at
least for this scribe, out of the NATO rebuff to
the UN's call for a massive airlift operation to
rescue stranded survivors in mountainous areas.
The UN wanted an operation similar to the scale
of the 1948-49 Berlin airlift in the wake of the
Soviet blockade of West Berlin. NATO's rejection
of this call was based on a most irrational argument:
"That was Berlin after World War Two and this
is Pakistan now -- there is absolutely no comparison."
Of course there is no comparison because the human
misery and urgency for rescuing stranded people
is far greater in scale now, but to declare that
aid work was not the "bread and butter of the
alliance" makes little sense when that is exactly
what it did in the Berlin airlift. And the fact
that NATO helicopters, as opposed to those belonging
to individual members of the military alliance,
based in Afghanistan were not being sent to Pakistan
showed a certain degree of callousness. If the humanitarian
Berlin airlift had a military dimension, so does
the Pakistani situation within the NATO context,
given that we are a front-line state in the war
on terror in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan-Afghanistan
international border. And if NATO can expand its
operational milieu beyond its mandate from Europe
and the North Atlantic region to Asia, then it cannot
be merely rules and regulations that are limiting
the scope of its relief efforts. But should we be
critical of this given that NATO is still providing
a fair amount of relief assistance? I suppose in
the case of NATO one can, given that Pakistan was
always being critiqued for not doing enough in terms
of its substantive military contribution to the
war on terror. But the quake has created doubts
and hesitancy in the context of critical responses
because of the international support coming through,
especially from individual NATO members.
Even vis-a-vis India, one has been fairly muted
on the propaganda tricks India has been indulging
in since the quake. While being unable to reach
out in a timely manner to the Kashmiris in Occupied
Kashmir, the Indians actually had some believing
in Pakistan that they would send us their helicopters
purely for humanitarian purposes. But now the Indian
intent towards Pakistan is becoming clearer.
While the Pakistani state and nation is still coming
to terms with the earthquake tragedy, the Indians
have launched a campaign against Pakistan at the
IAEA. On Monday, October 24, India chose to use
the Iran nuclear issue to demand that the global
powers not "gloss over" Pakistan's role
in Iran's program. And of course, Dr Khan was especially
singled out for attack. Perhaps India has forgotten
the role of its own scientists who actually worked
in Iranian nuclear facilities and then of course
there is also the Indian nuclear agreement with
Iran. It is unfortunate that India could not wait
to restart its anti-Pakistan vitriol, but the timing
should leave us in no doubt over Indian intent.
(The writer is director general of the Institute
of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Courtesy The
News)
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