Back to Young Leaders’ Conference (YLC)
Posted by: gmcmissing on: July 3, 2009
An unadulterated sense of déjà vu overwhelmed me as I walked yesterday evening inside the sprawling Darbar Hall at Sheraton Hotel in Karachi to attend yet another successful episode of the Young Leaders’ Conference. (I could effortlessly figure out the success of the event from the enthusiasm one could see from the first look at the energetic participants).
Overlooking the stress caused by an the unprecedented seven-hour long delay in my flight from Quetta to Karachi, it was absolutely refreshing to see YLC never losing its charm and ability to reshape lives.
I had attended the YLC for the first time in 2003 and then in 2004 as well. This year, I had been invited to speak on biography session with the theme HOW I MADE IT BIG.
Amid global recession indefatigable cycle of terrorism in the country, it was, understandably, not a bed of roses to organize the leaders-producing prestigious event. The School of Leadership (SOL), its zealous organizers and the ever-enthusiastic young facilitators once again did a remarkable job by brining around 300 participants from diverse parts of the country. The presence of 300 young boys and girls aging 18 to 25 has evidently back-seated terrorism and provided positive attitude a leading role.
It was wonderful to meet after six years my YLC mentors Kamran Rizvi, Shireen Naqvi, Saima Khan, Nadeem Chowan, Farhad Karam Ali, Nadeem sahib, Shujja uncle, adorable Mehreen Shoaib and the Young Facilitators of our time like Talha Iqbal ( the team leader for this year’s YLC), Umair and Hussain Dada.
As always, YLC has not changed. It keeps motivating young souls, fuelling passion and providing a meaningful life vision. During the evening session, Kamba’s presentation on AVIRA (Awareness, Vision, Inspiration, Responsibility and Action) was highly thought-provoking.
While interacting with some of the YLC participants, I came to know that the young boys and girls in Pakistan stand for a “change”. They are all passionate to lead. They are not as pessimistic as the ‘leaders’ of this country. They have faith in themselves. They rightly learnt from TV celebrity Faisal Qureshi that change occurs only when decide to we change ourselves, before making futile efforts to change others..
BNP unlikely to participate in APC, Sanaullah Baloch
Posted by: gmcmissing on: June 6, 2009
In the wilderness of Balochistan, former Senator Sanaullah Baloch, central secretary information of the Balochistan National Party (BNP), is wonderful man to exchange views with on the politics of Balochistan. Unquestionably, I consider him as the smartest of all Baloch politicians. He is an articulate speaker and a remarkable writer.
One of the reasons for my liking for Sana is that he does not come from an elite or tribal background. Sana is truly a self-made person who comes from a middle class Baloch family.
It is not bed of roses in this tribal society to survive as a politician until you have very strong roots in the tribal system, possess huge lands and share links with the mafia. Sana does not have these advantages yet he, in my views, is the best of all the Baloch politicians in terms of his understanding and presentation of the Baloch case.
I met Sana over lunch at his residence in Sattalite Town of Quetta. We mainly spoke about the upcoming All Parties Conferences on Balochistan being convened by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.
It is true that the success of this APC largely depends on the response given by the Baloch nationalist parties and armed groups. Prior to a formal announcement by the government of the schedule and the agenda of the proposed APC, I wanted to ascertain Sana’s views on the government plans to resolve the Balochistan issue through an APC.
MALIK: What is the BNP response to Premier Gillani’s decision to convene an APC on Balochistan?
SANAULLAH BALOCH: There is no need for an APC on Balochistan because one does not still see a policy change in Balochistan since the arrival of the PPP into power. Such conferences are held by the government only to gain media publicity. They are meant to divert attention from the actual issues of Balochistan. The government uses such conferences as a pretext to hold the Baloch nationalists responsible for the failure of talks in case the Establishment hampers the breakthrough and progress in talks between Balochistan and the Center.
We do not need all political parties to cogitate on the Balochistan issue because there are only two parties involved in the conflict: The Baloch and the Establishment/Centre. An APC would be spoiled if different political parties participate and waste the opportunity by coming up with their own lists of complaints and suggestions. Since the Balochs have solely been the victims of the conflict, we want the Baloch and Islamabad to directly negotiate without the presence of other political parties, whom we consider irrelevant at this occasion..
MALIK: Do you not think this APC would become more meaningful after saner voices, such as the one from Nawaz Sharif, seem to be supporting the idea?
SB: Basically, APCs in the past have always proved to be a sheer waste of time. They do not resolve political disputes. The reason I keep saying that we do not need an APC is because the Balochs are not at war with a single political party. It is the Center that has waged a war against the province. If Nawaz Sharif is sincere towards the settlement of the Balochistan issue, he should give a civil disobedience call to all the Punjabi civil and military officers posted in Balochistan to stop killing the Balochs, arresting our political activists and adding to the miseries of the Baloch people. We expect the Punjabis to stand united with the Baloch at this juncture. They should cooperate with us as enthusiastically as was seen during the judicial movement.
MALIK:It seems that the Baloch nationalists are running away from negotiations by making one excuse or the other. How can you reject an APC on the basis of assumptions and fears that you have even not experienced yet?
SB: We are not running way from talks. The Baloch political parties passionately participated in the Mushahid Hussain-led committee even though the country was being ruled by a military dictator. Yet, the committee, which was responsible to give its recommendations on Balochistan in 90 days, failed to table recommendations after 900 days.
How are negotiations going to succeed when Islamabad does not recognize the conflict in Balochistan? What does it mean when the federal government talks of an APC on the one hand and accuses us of getting external assistance on the other hand? Someone in the Center bills as ‘anti-state’ and the other describes as ‘traitors’. In different phases of the history, the Balochs were dubbed as the agents of India, Afghanistan, Iran and even Iraq. No one truly heeded our democratic demands.
The government should prove by its actions that it is trying to build confidence in the province. Even if one or two culprits responsible for causing bloodshed in Balochistan are brought to justice, it will bolster the Baloch confidence.
MALIK: So does it mean that the BNP will boycott the APC?
SB: Yes, we have no intentions to join the APC. Islamabad does not need to engage different non-Baloch political parties in talks about Balochistan. It should only talk to the actual representatives of the Baloch people because the actors and the victims of the conflict are the Balochs.
Until everyone, including the leaders from the BNP, National Party (NP), the Balochistan Republican Party (BRP), Jamori Watan Party (JWP), Baloch National Front (BNF) and all the armed groups, are taken on board, efforts for rapprochement are likely to fizzle out. Regardless of the demands of the separatists, they should be recognized as a concerned player in the conflict in Balochistan and invited to negotiate.
The level of mistrust between the Baloch and Islamabad has reached such a high level that we will not achieve any results without having “international mediation” between the province and the center.
MALIK What do you mean by “international mediation”? Who is acceptable to the Baloch as a mediator?
SB: We do not trust Islamabad. The Establishment will surely make every effort to sabotage talks between the Baloch and the Center. Therefore, we think that the United Nations or the European Union or some internationally reputed individuals, whom the Baloch should be entitled to nominate once Islamabad concedes to this demand, should be allowed to work as a mediator or observer to monitor the talks between the province and the Center. This will minimize the possibility of sabotage of negotiations. If we have no problems with a foreign mediator, why should Islamabad have any? Let the world know who is being naughty here.
MALIK:Do you think the Pashtoons of Balochistan should be included in the détente?
SB: The Pashtoons have always supported the Baloch struggle and demands. However, the current conflict entirely revolves around the Baloch people. The Pashtoons have not faced military operation, disappearances, torture, freezing of bank accounts, enlisting of names in the Exit Control List (ECL) and suppression. If a long-term settlement of the Baloch issue is desired then we can go forward even by excluding the Pashtoons.
We expect Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of the Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party, to respect the Baloch sentiments. If the Baloch parties boycott the APC, he should not pretend to represent the Baloch on such a platform. We deeply respect him but he has no mandate to represent the Baloch case.
By Malik Siraj Akbar
Way back in January 1999, the then US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot predicted that if Talibanization was to spread any further beyond Afghanistan, the country that stood to lose the most would be Pakistan. Ten years down the line, Pakistan is fighting a full-fledged war against Talibanization.
The United Nations says over two million people have been internally displaced (IDP) in this war. It is the largest exodus since the Partition in 1947. And things could only get worse if President Asif Ali Zardari lives up to his promise that the war will end only after the Taliban are completely vanquished.
While the country’s military fights the Islamist insurgents and the government devises strategies to assist the IDPs, the country remains clueless about the objective and uncertain about the outcome of this operation. In other words, what are we likely to experience once the militants are supposedly eliminated in this round of operation?
The military has notched successes, albeit temporary, against the extremists even in earlier operations – for instance, the Red Mosque operation in Islamabad. But such victories were short-lived and often followed by much-hyped agreements that proclaimed the state’s abhorrence to the use of violence against its own ‘misled’ people, which in turn ushered in a few weeks of peace.
The current standoff has however shaken the very foundations of the country and heaped enormous miseries on the people. And as such it demands and requires a distinct analysis and extraordinary solutions.
What does this conflict portend for a country like Pakistan that has borne the brunt of the fallout of more than three decades of wars and conflicts that were inflicted by various invading countries and which introduced into Pakistan alien politico-religious doctrines, economic vested interests and a warped strategic thinking that revolved around ’strategic depth’ in the region?
In the backdrop of recent developments in NWFP, everyone in Pakistan should earnestly deliberate on how to prevent posterity from becoming the victims of Talibanization, the epidemic of our age. Clearly, Pakistan desperately requires an indigenous strategy to successfully reverse Talibanization.
Since 1979, Pakistan has stopped developing in almost all domains of life due to its obsession with Afghanistan. Apathetic to the future of Pakistan, successive rulers in Islamabad cooperated with the CIA to train Islamic militants and make them fight America’s war against the Communist Soviets. After the Soviet withdrawal, Pakistan added to the woes of the Afghans by injecting virus of Talibanization in the Afghan society.
While the rest of the Islamic world thrived happily by exploiting its oil wealth, Pakistan regressed and pursued the dream of Pan-Islamism. Our territory was used as a ‘brotherly shelter’ for more than a three million Afghan refugees. We provided a training base to Islamic fighters hailing from more than two dozen countries, many of whom had, ironically, been disowned by their home counties.
Pakistan became the ultimate destination for the mafias hawking drugs, weapons, trucks, smuggling and terrorism. The religious schools mushroomed here faster than elsewhere on this planet. Our land was used, of course with Islamabad’s consent, to export Wahabbism to the world. Mosques began to outnumber public schools. We secretly planned to convert Afghanistan into our fifth province.
Despite indulging in such sinful mess for three decades, the path leading to a better future is still not shut for Islamabad, provided sanity prevails among the country’s ruling elite.
Thirty years of involvement in fighting other powers’ proxy wars in the region has proved by now that pan-Islamism is a myth. The ‘Islam-in-danger’ card only worked successfully in Pakistan which was actually exploited by the world powers to pursue their own interests that culminated in uncontrollable religion-driven global terrorism.
At a point when the very existence of Pakistan is alarmingly endangered, Islamabad should declare an end to its unilateral pursuit of the idea of pan-Islamism. Nothing has undermined the roots of Pakistan more than the cause of pan-Islamism. For a nation-state like Pakistan to exert for a pan-Islamist world by harboring terrorists from all over the world is sheer madness. All foreign fighters should be given a final ultimatum to voluntarily return to their counties or face death.
Pervez Musharraf did try to make changes by unveiling the much-needed agenda of enlightened moderation. But the post 9/11 developments derailed internal reforms in Pakistan and churned out what Mohsin Hamid calls ‘reluctant fundamentalists’. Had we inducted madrassah reforms, expunged hate material from the text books, excluded the religious slot from the passports, promoted a secular culture and stood in solidarity with former federal tourism minister Nelofar Bakhtiar –who was forced to resign by the Islmaists for the ‘crime’ of riding on a parachute with a European male instructor –extremist Islam could have arguably taken a backseat.
Today’s Pakistan needs a Marshal Plan-like package that concentrates on imparting secular education, ensuring good governance, introducing social liberalism and cultural emancipation among the young Pakistanis. This process will certainly encounter eormous resistance from the religious fanatics but this could well prove to be the last occasion for the religious Right to dictate the state policies and hijack the majority of moderate Pakistanis and impose its narrow world vision on them. Such a change is essential to make the nuclear-armed Pakistan a harmless and stable country.
Change will become irreversible only if the demolition of one girls’ school is compensated with the construction of five more. The US will never win its battle against extremism and terrorism as long as it ignores the importance of social reforms and construction of social infrastructure in extremism-ridden countries like Pakistan. The fault with the Muslim world is the strictly controlled conservative society led by ruthless dictators, monarchs, autocrats and clergy that refuse to treat every citizen as dignified human beings.
On its part, Islamabad needs to urgently improve its tarnished global image and end its isolation. To do this, it must not hesitate from establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. It is the time Pakistan logged out as a ‘communal state’ and joined the world community as a progressive, secular democratic country that promised not to host international terrorists who kill innocent people in the name of religion.
Good bye for now!
Posted by: gmcmissing on: May 27, 2009
Dear Readers,
This blog is going to shut for an indefinite period due to some unavoidable circumstances. I will try to come back with the blog as soon as circumstances turn favorable. No need to worry, friends. I am fine and everything is in control.
MALIK SIRAJ AKBAR
French tourist kidnapped in Balochistan: police
Posted by: gmcmissing on: May 23, 2009
Haider Aajiz, a journalist friend of mine from Dalbandin informed me about the kidnapping of a French citizen today. More information is provided in this story that I saw on web site of the Pakistan newspaper, The Nation:
I came across this Gunmen kidnapped a French tourist in Balochistan on Saturday, snatching him from a group of compatriots, who included women and children, in southwestern area of the province, police said. The 41-year-old man was kidnapped in an area where ethnic Baluch separatist groups and Islamist fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are known to operate, around 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border with Afghanistan. His abduction comes seven weeks after an American UN official was released following a two-month hostage ordeal in Baluchistan that was claimed by a shadowy Baluch rebel group trying to extract concessions from the central government. Six kidnappers armed with Kalashnikovs stopped the two French men, two women and two children travelling by car near Landi, a small town around 200 kilometres east of the Iranian border, said police officer Merrullah.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Karachi/23-May-2009/French-tourist-kidnapped-in-Balochistan-police
