He had no Choice!

Umairr # 570 (Mian & Nayyar)

Okay Umair Saheb, what do you think about the following item in Dawn of 3 Jan, 2000 (excerpts):

[ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been advised to seek services of legal experts to find out whether the government should file an appeal in the Supreme Court to re-open the case against former Ehtesab chief, Saifur Rehman, and Pakistan Customs for clearing 25 under-invoiced BMW cars in 1995-98.

This advice has been given in an interim report sent by CBR to the Prosecutor General`s office of the NAB. The report has been prepared by a committee of five Customs officers. The comittee was set up in November, 1999..... The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, had dismissed the case finding Redco-BMW Pakistan Ltd and Pakistan Customs not guilty in clearing these cars.

The interim report concludes its findings as follows: During the course of investigations of records, no tangible evidence was found against Redco-BMW.

The case-file was reopened by the CBR on instructions from the military government.]

Now, certainly I have no interest either in convincing you of the manipulative influence of propoganda and propagindists with which/whom you regretably are enamored in a simplistic manner, however the subject of corruption or otherwise of the Nawaz Sharif team is vital in understanding what is happening in Pakistan at the moment, for the benefit of other chowkwallahs. One must look into details and read between the lines instead of believing all that is presented to the visual senses.

The synopsis of the above news report is: The High Court had thrown out the case against Saif-ur-Rehman and Redco. The military junta, after the coup, assigned a committee of five officials of Central Board of Revenue to dig out some way in which the case could be reopened in the Supreme Court in an appeal. The comittee, despite the fact that Saif-ur-Rehman is in Jail alongwith his boss so obviously no political influence from their side, still reported that there was no case against them and the military govt should hire expert lawyers to try to pin something on the accused.

If I was the Federal Information Minister, I could get any newspaper in the country to print extensive investigative reports claiming that UmairR is in fact Santa Claus´ ... and people will believe that too ! Judicial enquiries and comittee findings are nevertheless quite another matter.

As for BBC, they´re an independant organisation and agreed to run the documentary prepared by the ex-chief of FIA in PPP Govt. for the sake of fairness because they ran a documentary on Zardari too. BBC does not take the responsibilty of confirming the veracity of each item it runs and the views presented are not necesarily their own. It´s upto the viewer to arrive at their own judgement taking all factors into account.

As for me, I have no personal axe on the grind. It´s true I´m one of the very few who believes in NS & Cos innocence as far as these corruption charges are concerned, but then again history has shown the most widely held opinions more likely to be absurd and the Truth has always been persecuted.

Dear Bilal Ahmad (#1005): It always help to listen (read) to opposing viewpoints about any issue. In the article you appended, Abid Ullah Jan has made several valid points in support of Taliban as compared to the Tajik/Uzbik alliance they replaced. If the world community and UN have to exclude all other factors and only to compare the Talibans with Rabbani/Hekmatyar government with respect to selective law and order situation, the author`s point of view is correct. But actual situation is much more complex due to Pakistan`s full support while Russia, Iran and India opposing coupled with fundamentalist and anti-american stand of Taliban government are the key factors for unwillingness of UN to recognize Taliban government.

Those who oppose Tlibans do not necessarily support the return of Northern Alliance to power; most individuals and associations opposing Taliban want better human/ women conditions than prevailing at present. They believe that Talibans` dogma is contrary to the basic human rights, especially of women.

Regards,

Sameer

In response to SameerJB (Reply # 1006)

Dear Sameer:

Your statement: ``Those who oppose Talibans [sic] do not necessarily support the return of Northern Alliance to power; most individuals and associations opposing Taliban want better human/ women conditions than prevailing at present. They believe that Talibans` dogma is contrary to the basic human rights, especially of women.``

Comment: The issue of human rights is very tricky. Every society has some good points and some bad points. Traditional societies need to transform. The questions are: Why? For what purpose? With what speed? How?

The Western critique of traditional societies, however appropriate, is not situated in the historical-geographical context of those societies. Planned social change must be based upon a vision and direction. It should be slow, gradual, and uninterrupted. Otherwise, it may entail a lot of unnecessary and unproductive conflicts. I don`t believe that Talibans` way of life is contrary to the basic human rights. It is a different form of social order with a different way of looking at the rights of human beings. This, however, does not mean that there aren`t some universally recognized human rights violations in such social orders.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

In response to SameerJB (Reply # 999)

Dear Sameer:

Good commentry. Let us not forget that Abid Ullah Jan is well respected by a lot of people in the NWFP, which include even a good number of moderates. Maybe we need to focus upon both positive and negative aspects of his writings.

Your last paragraph made me laugh. I was talking to a small group of Pakistanis, this evening. One person suggested that there should be only one symbol of national identity (i.e. the flag), though it was also suggested that Ummah is the only legitimate form of nation, which means that even Pakistani flag has no real meaning.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

In response to krashid (Reply # 1000)

Dear Rashid:

Just a clarification. The article is not mine. It is authored by Abid Ullah Jan. I simply posted it.

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

Taliban`s Afghanistan: Myths and Reality?

In the following piece, Abid Ullah Jan makes a case for the official recognition of the Taliban regime. A comparison of his picture of Afghanistan with one in the Western media may suggest the reality to be somewhere in the middle. According to Hasan Nasir Gardezi, the US was supplying arms to Afghanistan for use against Iran, with the help of Pakistani ISI, until the publication of his paper in 1998. What was Afghanistan getting in return for their dirty work for the Americans? What are the prospects of the recognition or the disintegration of Afghanistan? Can nation-states survive without economic aid from the West?

Sincerely, Bilal Ahmad

The Frontier Post

July 13, 1999 Tuesday

Taliban`s overdue recognition

Abid Ullah Jan

Just a week in Afghanistan is enough for someone not too dull of a soul to conclude and testify that whatever we hear about the Taliban and their rule is a campaign of absolute disinformation based on some twisted facts, half truths, and plain lies. The wrong focus of the beard-and-burqa-propaganda has overshadowed too much of a good work done by the Taliban. My recent meetings with the top Taliban officials and the common people in Afghanistan were enough to bring me to tears at occasions __ occasions when the exposed hypocrisy of all the stakeholders in the Afghan imbroglio and helplessness of the Taliban convinced me to the core of my heart that there is only one solution to bring the former glory back to Afghanistan, but no one is ready to consider it. And the solution is to recognise the Taliban government and assist them in their reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Any further delay in extending recognition or imposing undue sanctions would only bring back the lawlessness and hasten disintegration of Afghanistan. There are just a few pretexts on the basis of which the US and its allies are refusing to recognise the Taliban government, but there are a thousand and one solid facts that make the present rule in Kabul the most deserving government to be recognised in the last twenty years. During the years of Soviet invasion, the Taliban were among the first to jump to the occasion and fight the Communist regime. During this period, the Taliban truly fought the Soviets with great zeal and sacrifice. They were least corrupt and their strict religious regiment maintained a more focused approach to the Jihad. After the Soviets` withdrawal, the Taliban were the only group that suddenly quit the war scene and went to their religious schools. Meanwhile, Afghanistan became the killing field for the war games of the regional powers and the country was fast moving towards disintegration.

It was at this juncture that the Taliban were re-activated and ``re-introduced`` into the Afghan scene __ with the revived interest of the US and indirect assistance of Pakistan. The arrival of the Taliban, especially at the time when murder, rape and genocide by the various warlords was rampant sounded more like the cavalry arriving to rescue the trapped people of Afghanistan and they were hailed with great enthusiasm and support. The Taliban have delivered just what the people of Afghanistan were looking forward to for the last twenty years __ peace and security. I think, after Saudi Arabia it is the only country where you can park your unlocked car in the streets all day long and night without any fear of losing it. Despite the grinding poverty, no one can even think of robbery or theft that is prevalent in other countries like a cancer.

One of the pretexts for not recognising the Taliban government is that their it is not ``broad-based.`` For that matter, which of the previously recognised governments were broad-based? Everyone in Kabul knows that never before has been the ministries so widely allocated to different ethnic groups, as is the case now. The whole ministry of planning is in the hands of Persian-speaking Badakhshanis. Similarly, the Persian-speaking minority is leading the ministry of education and social welfare. Someone from outside has never ruled the province of Paktia with a majority of Pashto-speaking communities, but now a Persian-speaking Badakhshani is governing it. The same are responsible for the whole infantry division in the army, which also have Shia divisions fighting side by side the Sunnis.

The government has given share in power to almost every Afghan nationality. What they do not want among their ranks are former communists and the so-called liberals who are interested in bringing former King Zahir Shah`s family back to power. If Afghanistan needs anything now, it is a strong recognised government to sustain the peace and security established just recently by the Taliban. Situation in Afghanistan was much worse than Kosovo and it needed some serious measures to disarm the heavily armed factions and the public. NATO troops are doing just the same in Kosovo. In Kabul, you won`t see someone carrying a gun in the street.

The Northern alliance occupies only 5% of the land. If the movers and shakers of the Taliban leadership are alleged to have been solidly controlled by the Pakistani military and political forces, Iran has a similar operative group in their Hezb-e-Wahdat and Russia and Iran share a stake in the ``publicly traded`` stocks of Ahmad Shah Masoud and Sons, Inc. The Taliban do not have funds to pay those who are fighting on their behalf, whereas Masoud and Rabbani are heavily paying the poverty-stricken people to keep them in their fold. The reason people are staying with them is the inflation and poverty. In the North, flour costs Pak. Rs. 400 a kilo. In such a situation, apart from the further assistance from abroad, even Ustad Siyyaf`s personal $800 million and Rabbani`s $1200 million are enough to sustain the fighting for some time.

Since the US could not capitalise on the rise of the Taliban or influence their decision-making, some of their acts were declared despicable and unacceptable and the propaganda was spread to the extent that every other nation followed the suit. They have been blamed for ``harbouring Arab terrorists,`` ``women apartheid,`` ``technology phobia`` and a big brother approach towards every aspect of Afghan life.

As a result, the Northern Alliance of Ahmad Shah Masoud and Rabbani has taken the opportunity to portray themselves as more liberal and tolerant forces on the Afghan scene. The truth of the matter is that the protection that the Taliban have provided to the women, is considered as a denial of their basic rights; while Ahmad Shah Masoud and Rabbani`s oppression of women by unleashing a horrible reign of rape and murder (especially women of ethnic groups other than their own) when they were in power over a part of Kabul city has been totally forgotten.

The women lobby groups who are now going door to door in the streets of Beverly Hills for ``women rights`` in Afghanistan often fail to point out that the Northern Alliance is more guilty of oppressing the Afghan women than the Taliban. This is the kind of hypocrisy and political manoeuvring that the world and especially the US press is not aware of and thus Ahmad Shah Masoud and company are being portrayed as the next saints and saviours of the women rights in Afghanistan.

We talked to many government officials, including the faculty members and chancellor of Kabul University and all of them told us plainly that no one is against women`s education or their working outside their homes. The only restriction they want to enforce is that they be in proper hijab, when they go to school or while they are at work, and that they be studying and working separately from their male counterparts. Just recently, they have given employment to 60 women in the ministry of defence. Many of the government officials were of the view that human rights groups champion the rights of women, but they do not provide them any resources to make the dead industry functional and provide women with alternative jobs.

It is easy to raise slogans in favour of women than to practically do something for them. The cash-strapped Taliban are in no position to arrange separate facilities for women at the moment. Minister of industries and mines, Maulvi Eid Mohammed said that UNESCO or any foreign donor should come forward and show us just one example where they have tried to provide funds for reviving a dead girls school by reconstructing the building and making arrangement for paying its staff. No one has even offered any skill-development packages for women development. The Taliban clearly stated that they are not against women`s education or jobs, as it is better for them to make both ends meet rather than begging in the streets. The only problem is that the government has no funds to do the rehabilitation work within its present resources.

Even the Supreme Court of Afghanistan has passed a ruling that reviving women`s education programme should be the priority of the government. Deputy chief protocol, Daud Shah Niazi, at the ministry of foreign affairs, pointed out that women in almost 70% of the Afghanistan had no access to basic education even before the Taliban`s coming to power and the university and schools remained closed for most of the past 15 years, but no one made an issue of it.

Chancellor of Kabul University, Maulvi Pir Mohammed Roohani, said that it is women that are working in the hospitals and its women that are teaching medical students in the recently started classes at the university. He informed us that the university is also planning to open 11 faculties for women`s education but there is no one to financially assist the university in the reconstruction work and providing separate facilities to the female students. The government has no objection to any donors opening girls schools in Kabul __ or other parts of the country __ provided they can also provide pick-and-drop facility to the students in a city where not even the university professors can pay for their travelling expenses.

According to the Chancellor of Kabul University, the government is not against women education. It has given permission to NGOs and other interested parties to operate home-based schools or reconstruct and revive government schools on the condition that they must not be co-education. Apart from this, in his words: ``We have the solution for women education, but we do not have the solution for the world that is bent upon forcing us to keep male and female students together. We don not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, why should they interfere in ours? Even under the UN Charter you cannot force a people to change their religion or social norms.``

If it`s the matter of changing our values and social setup, said the Chancellor, let the western propagandists come to Kabul and impose their values here and let we be allowed to enforce what we may like in their land. ``Would they do so`` is the question that remains to be answered by those who visit Kabul and agree that the Taliban have brought a new life to the ghost town of Kabul and the war-ravaged Afghanistan, but refuse to tell the truth in the subsequent post-visit reports. According to the Chancellor: ``We are sitting on a jranda (small flour mill that is operated with the fast flow of water from a stream) on which whosoever may sit, won`t blame us as the thieves.``

The recent media coverage is portraying the Taliban as draconian savages. Those who really are aware of the recent Afghan history and realities on the ground very well know that the most savage acts have been committed by the forces against whom the Taliban are fighting with. The problem is that the US could not use the Taliban to its advantage according to its expectations.

One needs to understand what life was like during the years of foreign-backed factional fighting after the Soviet withdrawal. The Soviets left Afghanistan in February 1989 after killing approximately 2 million civilians. According to UN`s 1994 report, this caused Afghanistan to become the world`s largest source of refugees, and left millions of land mines and ``armies of amputees, widows and orphans.`` No war crimes tribunal was established, nor were there any indemnities paid for the destruction of villages and atrocities committed against the mostly rural poor, who had risen in resistance.á

The United States also abandon Afghanistan after using the Afghans for the defeat of the Soviet Union. In spite of prior U.S. promises to help develop Afghanistan after the war, no effort was made to reconstruct the country. The Afghans were left with a devastated infrastructure and inadequate humanitarian assistance to cope with the demands of recovery. Now they are blamed for harbouring Osama __ ``the terrorist.`` All the US-funded Afghan Mujahideen were terrorists of the same kind for the Soviet Union. They were demanding the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan as is Osama demanding US withdrawal from Saudi Arabia. The Taliban are being blamed and punished for harbouring just one Saudi ``terrorist`` Osama, where as the US so proudly crowned and nurtured more than a dozen Afghan ``freedom fighter`` Osamas for years.

And when the same Afghan Osamas, who had garnered $3 billion worth of arms from the CIA, began to fight amongst themselves for control of the country, the US quietly sidelined itself and waited for the country to be disintegrated. Other governments, according to Amnesty International, continued to use Afghanistan as a ``testing ground`` for their weapons. The CIA funds provided its ``freedom fighters`` with mortars, anti-aircraft guns, sub-machine guns, M-16 and Uzi carbines as well as Stinger missiles. The United Kingdom also provided them with Blowpipe surface-to-surface missiles.á

There was widespread hunger and malnutrition. Civilian casualties of war continued to die due to lack of medical attention. With the proliferation of land mines, maimed children with amputated limbs were a common sight. The prevalence of unclaimed corpses laying in the streets was further evidence that the people in Afghanistan have lived a surreal, horrific existence during the past few years of foreign-sponsored factional fighting. And all the changing governments were acceptable to the US and its allies.

An atmosphere of anarchy reigned in Afghanistan, where different factions carried out the looting of homes, killings, beatings and torture. The raping of women was rampant. As Amnesty International attested, ``rape was condoned by faction leaders as a means of terrorising conquered populations and rewarding soldiers.`` It reported the case of a young widow in Kabul, who in early 1994 left her three small children at home to search for food outside. Two soldiers abducted her from the street and took her to their base where 22 men raped her for three days. When she was released, she returned home to find that her three children had died of hypothermia. The global silence during that time suggests that all this was acceptable to the US, its allies and the human rights activists. No one tried to call for sanctions against Afghanistan at that time.

Since the war had shattered the country`s infrastructure, people had no means to earn a livelihood during this period of inflation. Young men and boys were forced to become mercenaries for the warring factions in order to feed their families. In the North they are still resisting the Taliban because the Northern Alliance pay them handsomely and the Taliban have no funds to feed even families of those who are fighting on their behalf. As the 1994 UN Special Report on Afghanistan explains, ``in order to make a living, people [had] to kill.`` The same is true today. In the North, they have to resist the Taliban to pay for the Rs 400 a kilo flour for their families.

Iran and India have also provided support to the Rabbani government. The Los Angeles Times has reported that on several occasions Iran has supplied aid to the beleaguered Rabbani government by air. India began to supply military aid to Rabbani in December 1993. Indian technicians are said to have been sent to Kabul to repair Soviet-made MiG-21s, gunship helicopters, tanks and artillery guns. Aryana Airlines, the official airline of Afghanistan, has been frequently used to deliver arms and munitions from New Delhi to Kabul, according to the the Frontier Post.á

Although many factions took part in the scramble for power, the bulk of the fighting between 1992 and 1996 took place between the factions of Rabbani and Hekmatyar. Between them, the two factions reduced most of Kabul to rubble, caused more than a million refugees to flee the city, and killed an estimated 40,000 civilians. These people died needlessly for, in June 1996, the two factions decided to reconcile and form a coalition government against the Taliban. By this time, the Taliban, an Islamic movement that sought to disarm all of the factions that had participated in the killing since 1992, had gained control of two-thirds of Afghanistan.á

Apart from disarming the warring factions, the Taliban has ended raping, looting, extortion and murder in areas where it has established control. It has done this through the imposition of Sharia law (New York Times). The Taliban have also enacted price controls over basic foodstuffs so that people are no longer going hungry (The (London) Times). Above all, it has brought about something that Afghanistan has not had for 17 years __ peace. This is something that neither the United States, Europe nor the United Nations has managed to accomplish. But still, the US and its allies don`t think the Taliban deserve the credit and recognition.

All of this progress seems to have been ignored by most of the mass media, which concentrates on forcing the Taliban to toe their line. The Taliban have taken the brunt of criticism for the propaganda of their forcing women to stay indoors, despite the fact that the Rabbani government had in fact issued such ordinances when it first took control of Kabul. Seeing is believing. One needs to go to Afghanistan to see if the Taliban have really done so. Of late, however, there seems to be an abundance of Afghan women`s advocates, from CNN`s Christian Amanpour to ABC`s Diane Sawyer, who have never set foot in Afghanistan during its 17 years of war. On ``20/20,`` Diane Sawyer wore a veil, the burqa, but neglected to mention that women in Kabul have been wearing it for centuries (see National Geographic, September 1968). It is not a garment devised by the Taliban.á

If these powers had truly cared for women`s rights, they would not have fought their proxy wars in Afghanistan. In doing so, they are just as responsible as the warring factions they backed for the creation of tens of thousands of widows and orphans. The Manchester Guardian quotes Charles McFadden, director of 74 relief agencies in Kabul, as stating, ``We work on the basis that the Taliban will need time to reassess`` (Oct. 7, 1996). The Taliban have done that long ago. On Nov. 1, 1996 the Taliban announced that it will allow girls to attend school and may allow women back to work once their safety can be guaranteed (The Associated Press, Nov. 1, 1996). And after meeting with the Taliban officials and the public figures one can easily reach the conclusion that the only restrictions in Afghanistan are that of burqa and beard, which is too little a price for living in peace and security after years of bloodbath in Afghanistan.

If the Taliban have no right to force their people for burqa and beard, the US and its allies also have no right to punish them for their burqa and beard. Afghan people need much more than a right to throwing off burqa and shaving their beards. Afghanistan needs recognition. It needs UNDP and other donors` generous assistance to initiate programmes for harnessing Afghans` potential to alleviate their poverty and become self-reliant. It is important to be aware that there are forces that manipulate the issue of women`s rights to further their political objectives and mask their own roles in the perpetuation of war and poverty in Afghanistan. The world has a choice either to recognise and stabilise the present government in Kabul, or to break the Taliban`s back with sanctions and lead the country into total chaos and the long-awaited-in-Washington disintegration. There is no other alternative at all.

Reference to Gnostics Reply # 990.

Although you are disagreeing with me on religious bias.

But the truth is Abdus-Salaam would never be given a position of Authority in post 1970 Pakistan, when anti-Ahmedi Compaign reached its Zsnith and is still in the psyche of Pakistan.

The reason was not that he was Ahmedi.

The reason was that he was a very famous person and Ahmedi.

Lot of Ahmedi`s work in good position, but are not famous.

My mentor and teacher was Ahmedi, so were some of my friends whom we used to protect against Jamat-e-Islami.

But it does not change the truth and psyche of a nation. Pakistanis and especially Punjab is very anti-Ahmedi. Some of it is religious but economics also plays a big role. Outcast Ahmedi to create job for yourself.

This is in response to the post by Dragon Slayer.

Dragon Slayer is basically trying to say that since NS was not able to carry on the agenda of US, therefore Army was brought.

Any unbiased person who has followed the events, starting from Kargil, to Shahbaz trip to US, to sacking of Army General and takeover by Musharraf and events immediately following it, one would right away realize that as long has it did not hinder NS empire, he did not care about nothing. Whether to sell Pakistan to AMERICA or India or what. And America could not have a better democratic leader for its purpose. Saying this.

The toppling of NS was of his own making, not anyone else. Musharraf did not come by a Anti-American revolution. Neither is Anti-American to be expected or demanded of him. When Benazir says that our economy will be better not by EHTESAB by by licking America`s boot and NS has no mind to think except to see how can he make more money by sugar export and kick backs.

As far as CTBT is concerned, NS would have signed it. What would have prevented him, when he was so much immune to public opinion (only Army) and it will be a matter to see what comes next.

As far as Taleban and Osama bin Laden are concerned, you have forgotten the blunder which was going to be made by Sharif`s when couple of days before 12th October they said that Taleban are involved in Pakistan. It would do nothing to Taleban, but Pakistan would become involved in another religious war with Pro-Taleban like Fazlur-Rahman etc making headlines. Compared to this policy of current Government vis a vis Taleban and Afghanistan is very pragmatic with involvement of Iran and other parties to the debacle. Also don`t forget the new alliance of Pakistan, China, Iran and peaceful Afghanistan and Turkemanistan countries which is in no way in the interest of America, India or Russia. And All Wars in Afghanistan are a direct result of this.

Present Government comes with the agenda of Ehtesab, Revival of economy,good governace and parity between provices. Now the people who are suffering with this agenda are crying most. It includes our corrupt superimposed politicians, corrupt beaureaucrats, and definitely a portion of Model town Lahore and their allies.

Although the Government is hardly 3 months old but some signs are evident in all these areas. Accoutability, economy, law and order and parity between provinces.

Since NS Government and BB Government were carrying out American agenda, it does not matter much whether Musharraf is Pro or anti American. And this rhetoric is going to fail miserably except people who think politics exists in their drawing rooms.

Excellnt article by BAhmed. Although line of logic is wrong and honor killing or any killing cannot justified in Islam or any name.

But the article signifies one point that we have to make our own values related to our own circumstances and not to buy everything from West.

The West itself is undergoing a major moral crises, where they are extremely worried about promiscuity in youth, drugs and related crimes etc. Some of the dressing is a youth cannot go out after 11:00 pm and restriction of sale of tobacco to under 18 (Which incidently is not implemented in our slave (opp of free) world due to our circumstances. Also sale of alcohol to under 21 and ``No shoes, no shorts, no service`` etc. Also IMPORT of foreigners to keep the standard of living to a good standard and to keep the unemployment to a reasonable limit.

If Our intellectuals instead of reading the words see behind words, one of the basic fact that US society is based economically on corporate America. And anything which does not affect it directly but rather helpful, like sex licence, enjoy life, apathy towards future generation and kids. For AMERICA it is easy because of the callous attitude towards humanity. For them humans are a small part of their huge machinery. Since there are no real values, their only aim is economics. Now as far as people living here are concerned they live day to day life without any thought of future or family. It is reflected in the education of their children which is very poor. More than half of their research students and scholars are foreigners. If any time it needs more people or worker it issues visa and green card lottery etc. Mutually beneficial for lower middle class people of third world and AMERICA.

Any way our economy is not based on these premises and a common man is conscious of inequality of wealth, lack of opportunities due to economic reasons etc and has a very strong support in the form of Family. Also in Islam the nucleus of society is not Corporate Empire but family. Although all the injustices done to women in our country like honor killing, marrying without asking, marriage to Koran, lack of opprtunities in education and employment and extremely subjugated role in marriage cannot be justified even on the basis of Islam, except our culture erroneously labelled as Islam.

We are finding, and we have to find our own identity independent of Western NON VALUES. Some of the example of this can be seen in Iran and Malaysia. And as the education in our society as well as prosperity increases we will have to adopt to our own experiences.

Lastly, it is an open secret even in West that women because of her Anatomy has an advantage over its male counterpart as a commodity and they utilize this commodity in the best possible manner which is leading to current moral collapse. In our society, if we accept (like western male) all these as norm, just see how can our society survive. NO WAY.

We have to introduce our own vocabulary with family as a unit of building up of society and not to accept the Catch word like women`s liberation etc from West

Dear Bilal Ahmad(re: #998): I was completely ignorant about Abid Ullah Jan, before I read your post. He appears orthodox, right wing conservative in the article you appended. I am sure that most Chowkwallas will disgree with his stand on femininism, including myself. The contributions of Asma Jehangir definitely deserve to be appreciated and in my opinion, Khalid Ahmad has rightly put her name in the top ten Pakistanis list.

I am not sure how much anti-american he is until I read your future post including his article about Talibans. Actually anti-americanism include very wide spectrum, from Iran, Taliban, Cuba, North Korea and old styled communists on one end and EU and Japan`s disagreement with the US on certain trade practices, on the other. Disagreeing with certain aspects of US foreign policy does not make one anti-american. For me, coming to a conclusion, independent of Abid Ullah Jan`s article, about possible convergence of US and PM`s interests do not make me anti-american at all. I do understand the interest of a lending individual, institution or a government to be worried about the recovery of their money. Yet I believe that stressing mostly on revenue enhancement (IMF and WB approach) through raising taxes and duties actually backfires leading to a decrease in productivity as well as consumer spending.

Thanks for additional information and the mindset of Abid Ullah Jan. BTW I am still amusing at the Omar Asghar Khan`s statement declaring national animal, tree, bird and flower. Next in line may be national rodent, insect, fruit, vegetable, cereal, spices, lentils.......

Regards,

sameer

In response to Dragon Slayer (# 995) and SameerJB (# 997)

Dear DS and Sameer:

Abid Ullah Jan is a Pathan and his ideas, assertions, and worldviews may not appeal many contributors of Chowk. His appreciation of Pathan society, Afghan politics, Islam, and his apparent anti-USA stand may also make many to at least to raise their eyebrows. Several months back, I posted the following on a forum of Chowk. In future, I would like to submit another piece by Jan on the issue of Talibaans.



Dear Wasiq Bokhari:

Abid Ullah Jan is a prolific writer and a regular contributor to the Frontier Post. He has written on numerous controversial issues. We need to develop a sympathetic critique of the problem of ``honor killing`` and its tribal (Pakhtoon) cultural context. Jan maintains:

``. . . it is extremely easy to protest murder of a women at Asma Jehangir`s office and vow to protect all the ``internationally recognized rights`` but it is equally hard to understand what do such rights entail in the perspective of our society.`` Rather than developing a critique of tribal culture, Jan has essentially linked the issue of honor-killing to Islam? Is Pakhtoon tribal culture a true reflection of any interpretation of Islam? Is honor-killing allowed in Islam? Should we simply reject Islam and accept the Eurocentric system of values? What do we need to do to balance the rights of individuals to that of family, community, or society?

Regards, Bilal Ahmad

P. S. Ms. Jehangir has recently been identified as one of the ten great Pakistanis by Khaled Ahmad (Friday Times, August 13).

Frontier Post; August 17, 1999

Women`s rights: Third dimension

Abid Ullah Jan

In yet another attempt to shine their business careers, the women`s rights activists condemned the way Senate dealt with the resolution against honour killing. It is splendid to see the human rights champions and women advocates fighting for the cause of the oppressed women, but a large number of them are causing ominous dislocations in the basic concepts of Islam and the accepted norms of an Islamic society. The reason is that their goal is not fair treatment of women, but redistribution of power from the ``dominant`` class (the male patriarchal system) to the ``subordinate`` class __ normally women, but actually only the radical feminists who know how to play by rules they have invented. The Senate happened to be just another scapegoat providing them an opportunity to make another demonstration and peddle the fiction that men are engaged in a vast conspiracy against women.

These radical feminists, together with the men who are interested in making a headway in their shadow, want to establish the rule that offences against women should be defined (not objectively, but subjectively) on the basis of how the woman felt instead of what the defendant actually did. Long before the new outburst of women`s rights` Pandora`s box, there were literally hundreds of laws clearly defined in Islam that gave protection to women based on society`s common sense recognition of facts of life and human nature.

The Senate cannot overrule what has been established since centuries.

In theory, the women`s rights activists appear to demand a doctrinaire equality, but in practice they are demanding affirmative action for women __ equal seats in educational institutes, equal job vacancies, equal seats in the representative bodies, etc. irrespective of any merit, or ability, or qualification. Their goals are the feminisation and subordination of men and their tactics are to cry ``victimisation`` and ``oppression.`` They have launched a broadside attack on Islamic jurisprudence and basic norms of an Islamic society. They want the victim, rather than the law to define the offence. They want the battered women syndrome to free any woman from conviction of violent crime. What they wanted from the Senate, in other words, was a licence for women to kill their ``abusive spouses.``

The borrowed feminists strategy of our women`s rights activists is straightforward: whine that women are victims of centuries of ``oppression`` and ``stereotyping,`` put men on a guilt trip and use all the stereotypical cultural techniques that women have always used to wheedle what they want out of men. Then use women in NGOs, media and government to change the laws in order to force us to conform.

We are getting used to what the feminists do, the way the act and the rights they demand. Their objection to the norms set by the Holy Quran has become a routine and we accept the daily criticism of the laws set by the Shariah. But this is leading us to a stage where we would approve all the forms of behaviour that are regarded beyond the pale of morality and decency. For instance, Thomas Jefferson, in his revised criminal code for Virginia, classified sodomy with rape, as a felony to be punished by castration. But the gradual brainwashing has brought another president, Bill Clinton to address a convention of homosexuals and place a presidential seal of approval on a loathsome behaviour.

Patronising anti-Islam and anti-nature propaganda and activities of women`s rights groups is destructive of something more profound and important than public health. It is a manifestation of that moral relativism that has infected the western countries, and has been transmitted to our elites, in public education, in government, politics, the media and particularly the NGOs. The women`s rights activists say all moral choices are ``value judgements,`` and that there is no rational basis for saying one moral judgement is better than another. This is the point from where they take a start for building a case against honour killing and condemnation of the Senate.

The argument is that whatever an adult man or woman do or decide for him/herself, no third adult has a right to condemn or pass judgement on it. But there is no rational basis for ``value judgements,`` there is no rational basis for the aforementioned limitation to adults, or to consent. Relativism can validate Hitler`s genocide as well as any of his other moral preferences. It can validate rape as well as consensual sex. The reigning moral relativism of the women`s rights champions scuttles the wisdom of the Islamic tradition and of the tradition embodied in ``the laws of nature.``

It implies that whatever an adult woman decides for herself is as much a matter of moral indifference as the choice of a flavour of ice-cream or a brand of soup, and there is no need to barbarically go to the extent of killing in the name of honour. It simply removes men and women behaviour from the sphere of morality, as if it had nothing to do with right and wrong __ as both are considered to be relative to the time and generation. This relativism extends the whole length of morality. Logically, it does not admit to exceptions. It means we cannot condemn slavery or genocide, except it is something we happen not to like. But our preferences have no moral standing in the court of reason than their opposites. We cannot say that slavery and genocide are intrinsically wrong.

But those of us who will not concede that slavery is justified, no matter what others may think, or that genocide is justified no matter what Nazis may think, must say why slavery and genocide are wrong, everywhere and always. Why then do we say that it is acceptable to ``enslave`` a horse or an ox, but not another human being? Why is it acceptable to slaughter a cattle but not a Jew? Is it not because those who share a common human nature ought not to be degraded below the level of their humanity? Do we not have an obligation, arising from nature itself, apart from all law and custom, not to harm other human beings, except in self-defence?

Regardless of any religion and cultural norms, the same nature that tells us it is immoral to enslave (or eat) our fellow humans tells us how to treat men and women and this distinction between a male and female is the most fundamental distinction within all living species, and that within the human species it is the original and originating source of all moral distinctions. Man has not invented any patriarchal system to enslave women as is being propagated by the women`s rights sympathisers. Nature means that which has within itself the principle of its existence from birth to death. There is a superhuman wisdom in nature that unerringly produces puppies from dogs, kittens from cats, piglets from pigs, and male and female human babies from human parents. Not only does it produce them, but it guides their path of growth and behaviour, and decline from birth to death that can neither be controlled by men nor women to oppress all members of the opposite sex, everywhere and all the time.

When we think of women or human freedom, we should bear in mind that our humanity is not something we invented or chose for ourselves. Because we are neither beasts nor gods, we have no right to act as gods to other human beings, or treat them as if they belong to a lower order of creation than ourselves. Of all the laws we make in our common interest, none are of greater import than those having to do with the men and women relationship, marriage and family. Human freedom enables us to discover the meaning of right and wrong. But it is not the source of that meaning.

Slavery and genocide are intrinsically wrong, they represent the abuse of human freedom. So does sexual promiscuity in all its forms approved by the feminists. It is in human nature that we may obey or disobey the rules of morality, but nature does not permit us to be the source from which these rules emanate and declare than men and women are equal in all respects and that their present roles need to be redefined as they have been evolved due to ``social conditioning.``

The entire moral network arises from nature. Now it happens also to be part of the nature that sexual passion is a jealous passion that is one of the major factors leading to honour killing. The integrity of the family depends upon female chastity, because the sense of obligation of the husband depends upon his conviction that his wife`s children are his own! And the husband fidelity is necessary to convince the wife that she and her children are the undivided objects of his devotion. Nothing strikes at the well-being of the family more than adultery or incest, or relations with a person other than the spouse __ let alone breaking the marriage bond and starting a new life with another partner without fulfilling the accepted norms of society. These prohibitions against rape, adultery, incest, women`s unbridled freedom, etc. are no mere ``value judgements.`` And our Senate cannot do anything to repeal such prohibitions or allow the violations that lead to honour killings.

The base of feminist agenda is that a woman`s identity disappears in marriage and that ``marriage is bad for you, at least if you`re female.`` Would the women`s rights groups promote a right which the author of a 52-page article ``Scenes from the Family`` in Redcliff Quarterly described as, ``instead of getting married for life, men and women (in whatever combination suits their sexual orientation) should sign up for a seven-year itch.`` If they want to re-enlist for another seven, they may, but after that, the marriage is ``over.``á

The beacons for our women`s rights activists are the western feminists who extol the wonderful life of a child born out of wedlock and explain divorce as ``a significant life event that confronts individuals with the opportunity to change.`` Are we going to see campaign on these issues in the near future? Those who are calling for ``protection of all internationally recognised human rights`` under the banner of Asma Jehangir must keep in mind that the New York-based Institute for Values recently completed a study of 20 post-1994 college social sciences. Called ``Closed Hearts, Closed Minds,`` the report concludes that most of the textbooks give a downright hostile view of marriage, emphasising marital failures rather than its joys and benefits. Thanks to grip of western feminists, who view marriage as especially bleak and dreary for women due to its ``archaic and oppressive nature.``

Pro-feminist textbooks, like ``Changing Families`` by Judy Root Aulette, focus on battering, marital rape and divorce and give the impression that children don`t need two parents and are not harmed by divorce. ``Why Women Who End Their Marriage Do So Well`` by Ashton Applewhite is an example of the new genre of books attacking marriage as a bad deal for women. The author dumped her husband after reading feminist Susan Faludi`s ``Backlash.`` Now Applewhite together with other feminists, seeks social approval for her walk-out by encouraging middle-aged women to find independence by doing likewise.

The publication of another new book ``On Our Own: Unmarried Motherhood in America`` by Melissa Luddtke, attracted Hillary Clinton and many other to a book party at home of PBS journalist Ellen Hume. Hillary was thanked for her assistance as a ``reader of the book in progress.`` Similarly, in the movie industry, ``G. I. Jane,`` directed by Ridley Scott, is a fitting sequel to his 1991 movie ``Thelma and Louise.`` Both movies try to idealise the macho victim, the foul-mouthed, gun-totting women who triumph over the perceived discriminations perpetrated by an unfair male-dominated society. Thelma and Louise freed themselves from an oppressive patriarchal society by driving their automobile off a cliff. Their double suicide proved they were liberated women because they made that death decision independently from male coercion.

G.I. Jane (Demi Moore) proves she is a liberated woman by getting herself beaten to a bloody pulp, almost raped, and subjected to extreme bodily harassment. To the feminists, this is okay because her goal is to be treated just like men. This is the kind of equality our women`s rights activists demonstrating in front of the Parliament House are seeking, but what they demand in public rallies and describe in various seminars has been reduced to a simple phrase: ``double standards of human rights.``

Like the Senate members, everyone is apologetic and defensive. Whereas the fact remains that the borrowed views on motherhood, marriage, gender, career and women`s rights are being imposed on us by its champions for shining their own careers and strengthening their funding base. We cannot respond to what they say without proper research, analysis and impact study of such innovations on the western society. For namesake, it is extremely easy to protest murder of a woman at Asma Jehangir`s office and vow to protect all the ``internationally recognised rights`` but it is equally hard to understand what do such rights entail in the perspective of our society. Would any of HRCP member fight for the rights of the homosexuals and stage protest in front of the Senate because it is an ``internationally recognised human right`` endorsed by Bill Clinton as well?

Every generation seeks its defining moment. Through intellectual illumination, artistic insight, philosophical precision, political perception and moral appreciation we come to understand our life and time. Let speechlessness in the face of feminist onslaught not become the hallmark of present generation due to lack of research and inability to see the third dimension of the issue.

Dragon Slayer # 995

You have posted a very intellegent and well-thought out letter by one very rational individual. Myself and few others have stated previously about the backing of US, IMF, WB and other lending institutions to the coup and the present set-up in Pakistan. With the passage of time, all other theories are becoming obsolete and outright bizzare. The lending agencies have much more leeway with the current set-up than the NS government. The NS government was no less pro-lending agencies and US, but NS was always concerned about the political fallout of implementation of their agenda including GST and raising fuel and utilities prices. Once they calculated NS to be less reliable, his future was doomed. With PM in the driving seat, the lending agencies agenda are imposed and US will get CTBT signing from Pakistani government.

The modus operandi for PM is to keep fooling the people into discussing Kemal Ataturk, devolution of power, national animal, national this and national that while keep implementing the lending agencies agenda. This is good enough for PM to provide him seal of approval from the almighty US. In the meantime, the corrupt judges and elites will keep the politicians and PML`s legitimate government tied down in the courts.

The way things are proceeding now, I fear violence and bloodshed in the near future, a consequence of the coming economic squeeze and complete detachment of the current set-up from the masses.

Gnostics # 990

Dear Gnostics: Thank you for your recent posts directed to me. This is exactly what I hoped for when I tried to entice you into writing something. Yes, I have heard Sahasrabuddhe at mp3 website and no doubt, she is fantastic in ``peerava aao`` and ``jog`` singing.

In response to another question ``what do physicist do``, I will briefly say that research in any field is basically based on natural human desire to know more, by posing a question first and then trying to solve it. The solution requires constant reductionism which pushes the boundaries beyond the comprehension of a lay person. After achieving certain level of accmplishments, many of the scientist try to reconstruct their understanding in a sort of unified approach to make their wisdom understandable to lay people. Lately, people from physics, cosmology, astronomy and biology are most visible in this regard. Just look at the success of cosmologist, Stephen J. Hawkins and his book `` A Brief History of Time``.

Political activities in Pakistan are very slow right now due to Ramazan. I hope NS supporters and PML making a well-organized and intellegent approach to detach the few vultures from the power. I will be posting something in this reagrd in response to very fine piece by Dragon Slayer # 995. Please keep posting.

Regards,

Sameer

Re. Umairr #549; Gnostics #964

Biraderam: In my rather lengthy post #964 I had asked you a question which I reproduce below. I suspect it got burried in the length of the letter and didn`t come to your attention. I should be grateful if you would kindly give me an `in general` kind of information on the points in which I was interested.

Do please, by all means, ignore the `humour` in the question. It is not facetious at all, even though its tenor may have sounded differently to you than what I had intended it to mean.

Sincerely, Gnostic



Quote from #964

``I haven`t followed the discussion on the army`s job benefits and costs. [I can do that, though. I`ll start with the availability of an orderly, to begin with, and its equivalent cost in the civil life; housing, the pieces of land which have made just the officers from Kohat alone own more land in Sindh, than Bannu, Thal and Kohat, itself, combined! Go Figure; or figger].

When you left the army for a job ouside of it because you were better off out than in, then, logically, it is incumbent upon you to say why the ones who stayed in, did so? One-way explanations never qualify as explanations; pulling the wool over others` eyes, ingenuous (or even ingenious) statements, perhaps. But not `explanations.

Secondly, since you pique my curiosity, what was the educational quotient of your colleagues as compared to your own when you left?

And finally, why did you join the army to begin with? Is it because you looked ba`roub in the uniform? The desirable marriage partners were more favourably, (and favourable to boot; moneyed, with property, well educated, in upper reaches of the class structure; in other words, with the possibility of hypergamy) available?

Or, was it to serve the nation,

Or, to go for Jehad in the service of Islam,

Or,..., well, now you go ahead....``

Gnostic



bahmad #991

Dear Bilal Ahmad Sb.

In my post (#989) I had requested that if at all possible for you to do so, I should be grateful to receive from you information on the methodology of Khaled`s poll for arriving at the list of ten outstanding Pakistanis. Not only did I not succeed in finding their archives but found their site closed today for `construction`. This is unfortunate.

Sincerely, Gnostic[@Presidency.com]

P.S. ``Mulakra`` reminded me of the drama [Karachi PTV] in which the villagers arrange a ``mulakra`` between an England returned fellow and a local fellow by the name of `German`. I hope you remember that show.

I CANNOT BELIEVE

Hamidm,

This is what people have been talking about, Y2K and end of the world, the new millineumm, unbelievable events, pigs flying and indo pak understanding.

Best wishes, happiness, long productive life and every thing worth while in the world for you. I completely agree with you.

Regards

Jay.

bahmad #991

Dear bahmad:

Thank you for your prompt response to my query in my post(#990).

The next para in that post was also a request to you about getting me some information on the August 13 issue of the paper. Should you have a copy, then, I shall be grateful to receive it from you at the e.mail address indicated there. I made that request for the reasons I indicated, also, in that same paragraph. Please help.

Sincerely,

Gnostic