Current Issues, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Politics, Punjab, Religion

Pakistan’s strategic assets at work

Leave a comment

Strategic Assets hard at work …

By: Omar

“Taliban militants”, riding a car and three motorbikes, drove up to a hostel where 30 under training policemen were living (this is in Lahore, capital of Punjab), walked in, said the usual Allah O Akbar and started shooting whoever they could. Killed 10 or so, injured a few more. Got on their car and motorbikes and drove away. The chief of police said “its retaliation for NATO supplies”, thus conceding that in his capital city, there are armed men who can get into their cars and come shoot up random poor soldiers and leave anytime they want if they are upset over NATO supplies. Where did they come from? where did they go? Can they be stopped? Apparently we have no idea… other than Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif appealing to the Taliban to please not attack Punjab province because HIS govt doesn’t agree with the “pro-NATO” policies of the federal govt (he actually said this, look it up).’

Meanwhile, in Bajaur, which has been “cleared” of militants several times, the taliban came in their hundreds and took practically a whole village hostage. Pakistan will blame Afghanistan (and by extension, NATO) but who missed the chance to work WITH Nato to fix this problem?

If any ruling elite deserves to be screwed with sharp edged instruments it has to be the Pakistani ruling elite, but its mostly its poor soldiers and poor people who get killed. Which is par for the course in this world, but still painful. I have known a couple of these Pakhtoon soldiers and my father and my uncle have served with many many more and they are just outstanding human beings. They are dirt poor but they are proud and honorable and they are incredibly tough. And they are being sacrificed with abandon while the ruling elite plays its double games with America and dreams of strategic depth and other bullcrap. Its too sad for words.

I should add that I don’t think the US or NATO have done the right thing in the region. Far from it. But the world is what it is. There is a hierarchy of problems and solutions and capabilities. In any case, replacing the world capitalist system with something else is not a task the Pakistani ruling elite can do even if they wanted to. WITHIN that system, many countries seem to get by without shooting so many people or getting shot so regularly. Creating the Jihadi terrorist machine was a bad idea, but keeping it alive after its first sponsors (CIA and Saudi Arabia) had moved on was even worse. Keeping it alive when Uncle Sam came to kill them may prove to be the icing on the cake.

Courtesy: Brown Pundits

http://www.brownpundits.com/2012/07/12/strategic-assets-hard-at-work/

By using this service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although IAOJ does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.