Have We Come
to This?
By Dr Shireen M Mazari
The desecration of the Holy Qur'aan
in Guantanamo Bay simply to cause psychological
torment to the incarcerated Muslims, with no thought
to the sensitivity of innocent Muslims across the
globe, certainly makes it clear how the US administration
views Muslims. Add to this The Washington Times'
portrayal of Pakistan as a pet dog obeying the commands
of the US, in the wake of the arrest by Pakistan
of al-Qaeda's Abu Farraj Al Libbi, clearly reflects
the abuse the US media feels it can dish out to
Pakistan at will.
The cartoonist's explanation is absolute drivel
and he should recall the British reaction to George
Michael's video, "Wag The Dog". Incidentally,
on such a blatant abuse of Pakistan, why was it
left to the Deputy Chief of Mission to take up the
issue at the level of our embassy in Washington?
Surely our ambassador should have made the public
protest. Despite this continuous insult of Pakistan
and Islam, we continue to live under the illusion
that we are being seen as a partner in the war on
terrorism!
In fact, there seems to be a growing disconnect
between our national sovereignty and developments
on the ground. As stated in an earlier column we
now have foreign personnel actually examining our
passports within our own territory - in our departure
lounges. No other state would accept this micro
level usurpation of sovereignty-- certainly not
a state that is a major regional player and a nuclear
power. It is no wonder then that we have had the
US and British ambassadors pontificating on our
domestic issues ad nauseum. In fact, we have the
EU and the US (with a few exceptions) evolving a
highly intrusive and dialectical relationship with
Pakistan. They want us to have democracy but cannot
stomach the results of the electoral process. Then
they want to alter our social norms and educational
system so that eventually we shed our Islamic identity
- something that seems rather remote and a trifle
absurd also.
While the US focuses on external strategic cooperation
with India, with Pakistan the focus is primarily
on seeking to shape internal societal dynamics.
But we have continued to accommodate and go more
than the extra mile in the open-ended war against
terror. This, despite the abuse of Muslims and Islam
in Guantanamo Bay and the many attacks against Pakistanis
in the US itself - of which little ever comes out
in the US media. And one cannot forget the anti-Islam
tirades from within the US Administration by such
representatives as General Boykin!
What has been the net result or our extensive cooperation
with the US and its allies? We have had our nuclear
program come under scrutiny while the Iran-India
nuclear cooperation has remained beyond the pale
of examination, and the European links in the A.Q.
Khan network have been kept out of the media spotlight.
And now there are members of the US Congress who
are seeking to link the supply of US weapons to
Pakistan with a US Presidential certification that
Pakistan has provided unhindered access to Dr. Khan.
So while we may read news reports of new weapon
systems that the Pentagon is expecting to sell to
Pakistan, all these sales will have to get Congressional
approval! And that is not going to be smooth sailing
for Pakistan.
The worse aspect of our cooperation has been the
domestic access given to foreign governments and
NGOs, both at the micro and macro levels. It is
not just the man at the departure lounge, but the
intrusive NGOs commenting on developments within
Pakistan with a heavily biased agenda. Take the
case of the International Crisis Group and its heavily
biased reports on Pakistan. Interestingly enough,
the ICG had to leave India, where it was working
on Kashmir, because of "safety" reasons.
So while Pakistan allows the ICG to continue functioning
and producing its own agenda-ridden reports, there
is now no ICG office in India. Strange how no one
at the ICG headquarters in Brussels has made a noise
on this.
With our increasingly accommodating approach to
all abuse, it is no wonder, then, that even US film
stars, feel a compulsion to hold forth on aspects
of our policies. Notwithstanding Ms Angelina Jolie's
very attractive personality and dedication to the
cause of refugees, we had to suffer her political
statement on the relocation of refugees. She declared,
while in our country, her opposition to our policy
of seeking a return of Afghan refugees back to their
country and setting them up in camps in Afghanistan
instead of their continuing presence in Pakistan.
The similarity between her views and US views on
the subject expressed soon after the fall of the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan must surely be a coincidence.
Pakistan has done more than its share of accommodating
Afghan refugees, including allowing them full access
to the country - in contrast to most states that
keep refugees in camps. But why we should accept
them as part of our civil society remains unclear,
especially when thousands of stranded Pakistanis
in Bangladesh have yet to be accommodated. So while
we appreciate Ms Jolie's work on behalf of Afghan
refugees, her blundering into a sensitive political
issue, is unacceptable. Incidentally, with the billions
earmarked by the international community for the
reconstruction of Afghanistan, the return of the
refugees either to their homes or to camps within
Afghanistan should be part of that reconstruction
process. If the process itself is faulty, why should
Pakistan have to continue paying the price - especially
when aid for these refugees within Pakistan has
been dwindling over the years? As it is, the continuing
presence of these refugees is a growing security
risk for Pakistan because they can provide space
for the al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants.
There really is a strange slide down a slippery
path in terms of our national identity and sovereignty.
This is apparent in meetings visiting Indian delegations
have with Pakistani elites - both official and at
the level of civil society. Some Pakistanis now
seem to be hell bent on informing Indians how we
are all the same! Well, in one sense I suppose we
are the same as all humankind. But many of us do
relate to the reality of a Pakistani identity which
is why the doling of our nationality to any foreigner
who happens to state his love for the country is
also not very comforting. If I were to declare my
love for a European or Asian state, would I automatically
receive an offer of nationality from that country?
Where are we headed and how far will we go in compromising
our sovereignty seems unclear, but we have reached
a low point when we are seen as pet dogs by our
supposed ally's media and American movie stars state
their opposition to our policies while in our country.
Apart from the strong Foreign Office protest, where
are the voices that normally harangue on our foreign
policy? Strangely silent. So this is what we have
come to now.
(The writer is a Director General of the Institute
of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. Courtesy The News)
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