Ungrateful Afghans: will they ever change?

Afghanistan has always opposed the existence of Pakistan, right from day one. It opposed the creation of Pakistan, claiming most of the territory of the new country (despite their former rulers having accepted the Durand Line as the border). India helped them claim that the two provinces of Pakistan (KP and Baluchistan) belonged to Afghanistan. Pakistan helped Afghans in expelling the Soviets from their country. They seem to have forgotten that India did not oppose the Soviet invasion and did not boycott the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow (most countries including Pakistan boycotted). 

The Taliban government currently in power has allied itself with India to destabilize Pakistan, their foreign minister even supporting India's illegal occupation of Kashmir. He was unable to justify his government's treatment of its women. He forgot that Pakistan gave refuge to three million Afghans (half of them are still in Pakistan).

After years of bomb blasts carried out by Indian-supported Afghans, Pakistan decided that it could no longer stay silent. After Pakistan's bombing of the terrorists' sanctuaries in Afghanistan, the Taliban begged for a cease fire.  The cease fire agreed in yesterday's talks in Doha and more talks in Istanbul to be held next week, perhaps the Taliban may agree to stop terrorist activities, but I doubt if they will ever change. They want Pakistan to hand over its two western provinces to them, where they want to impose their version of Islam. Pakistan should retaliate whenever a terrorist attack takes place in the country. That's the only way to defeat them.  

Taliban’s Islam

 Published in DAWN on September 2, 1998

I CONGRATULATE the Prime Minister on his bold decision to declare Quran and Sunna as the supreme law of Pakistan.

I hope, however, that his interpretation of Islam is not the same as that of the Taliban’s. If it is, then we shouldn’t be surprised to see armed men roaming the streets, arresting all men who are not bearded and all women looking out of the windows, of their houses.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Afghan Taliban ban pictures and videos of living things in print and electronic media

The human mind is perhaps the most unique thing in the world. It can imagine how the world will look like a hundred years from now. It can work out how to travel to Mars. Unfortunately the same human mind can be terribly stupid when it belongs to some people in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

When it was in a coalition government in Pakistan's KP (2013-2018), the Jamat-e-Islami party got pictures of women and animals removed from school text books. This is one party that has many highly educated individuals who donate a lot in charity. Yet it too has people whose minds are like those who lived in the Stone Age.

Afghanistan's Taliban have gone much further. Their morality police have banned pictures and videos of all living things which have souls (meaning humans and animals) in the electronic and print media. I looked at Pakistani newspapers today and found pictures of humans on almost all pages. As for TV, I wonder what Afghan electronic media will show when the ban takes effect. 

These guys are so stupid that they don't realize they are doing their best to make themselves the laughing stock of the whole world. It also makes others wonder if Muslims don't need psychiatric treatment.

The Taliban should be expelled

I suppose we should have expected it after the ignominious withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban's Pakistan branch (TTP) slowly recaptured parts of the country from which it had been expelled by the army. Now that the militants are back, the civilians in the affected areas are in a state of panic, as they remember their previous rule. They do not recognize the Constitution of the country, and (like their Afghan brothers) consider women to be slaves who should be locked up in their houses. They have also threatened to carry out attacks in the rest of the country.

There is only one thing to do: fight them and send them back to Afghanistan. But the question is: will the state do it? I don't have the stats, but I think eight out of ten males in the northern parts of the country would support the Taliban in an election. Females, of course, would oppose them (if they're allowed to vote, that is).

We are in for bad times if the Taliban are allowed to take over Waziristan, Swat and the rest of KP. Only God can help us now. It would be easier to defend the country against Indians, but victory against the Taliban will be hard to achieve.

Why does Imran Khan support the Taliban?

The Taliban have been around for almost three decades now. During their previous rule in Afghanistan, they blew up the Bamiyan Buddha statues, killed thousands of men and women and caused the country to sink into anarchy. Now, with Pakistan's help, they're back but despite agreeing to give more rights to women and minorities, they have reneged and appear to be the same old dogmatic conservatives who think only what they believe is right.

What I can't understand is why Imran Khan is supporting them, seeing that the Taliban will never change. They have given refuge to anti-Pakistan rebels, and in fact they are actively encouraging the terrorist TTP to carry out more bomb attacks in Pakistan. They even refuse to recognize the Durand Line as the international border, in fact cutting down the fence erected by Pakistan at great cost so terrorists can easily enter Pakistan and create mayhem. Yet Imran Khan is openly supporting them, asking the West to recognize their government. It should be noted that not a single government in the world has yet recognized the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. But our moronic prime minister loudly proclaims that there is no alternative to recognizing them, alienating most Afghans in the process. No wonder most Afghans hate Pakistan so much!

Afghanistan: interesting times ahead

Like Imran Khan, the Taliban promised a lot before seizing power, but like Imran Khan, they are already making U-turns. They said they would not seek revenge and will not punish those who worked for the Americans and other allied forces, but they have already started doing so. One of the first things they did was to release from jail those terrorists who bombed Pakistan, and who now say they will  impose Islamic rule here. In fact, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China had all agreed that they would not accept any government in Afghanistan which forcibly imposed Sharia. But the Taliban said on the first day that this is exactly what they will do. 

Of course it was evident that the Taliban haven't changed in the past twenty years. So it shouldn't have surprised anyone when they announced yesterday that their system of government will be Islamic, not democratic. What they're saying is that democracy is incompatible with Islam. The real reason for not preferring democracy is that they know they will never get power in a fair election, as the people don't want to live under their strict version of Sharia. 

It should be interesting to see what happens next. It's been six days since they entered Kabul, but they haven't been able to form a government yet. They're going to find it very difficult to run the country, as they don't have the money to do so. No country would like to help them, not even Saudi Arabia and the UAE (who, along with Pakistan, were the only ones that recognized them in 1996, but who are now firmly in the U.S. camp). Iran and Pakistan are almost bankrupt. China and Russia may wonder how the Afghans will pay them for oil and other essentials, seeing that they have no way to earn dollars (unless they do so by exporting narcotics and guns). Besides this, no Russian or Chinese would like to work in a country where liquor is banned and women are second-class citizens treated like animals. 

The Taliban also know they are not popular. If there was any doubt about this, the demonstrations by women in many cities should convince them that they are in for a tough time. If the Taliban don't accept the changes demanded by the US and Western powers, they cannot last for more than six months.

Taliban take over Kabul again

Of course no one expected the Ashraf Ghani government to last long after the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Most people thought it would take a few months before Kabul fell, but no one expected it to happen within ten days or so. The Taleban have entered Kabul today, and the puppet president Ashraf Ghani is reported to have fled to Tajikistan despite his defiant attitude just two days back. 

Ironically, this has happened on India's independence day. Surely there is a lesson for India in all this. It spent many billions to prop up the many corrupt Afghan governments in the past twenty years, mainly with the aim of destabilizing Pakistan. India does not share a border with Afghanistan, yet it has thirteen consulates in that country. With the withdrawal of Indians from Afghanistan, it should be interesting to see if terrorist attacks to Pakistan cease or continue from that country. 

Will the Taleban do what they did in their earlier spell? Will they force people to adopt their version of Islam or will they be tolerant of human rights now that they are again in power? I have a strong suspicion that the Americans have secretly promised them financial help to prevent China from spreading its influence in their country. But if no aid is forthcoming, and their government is not recognized by any of the western powers, then the Taleban might turn towards Pakistan and attempt to colonize it. I wonder if those who sit in Islamabad are ready to face that kind of situation, knowing that the Taleban have a strong support base among Pakistanis. 

Why do most Pakistanis hate Malala?

The northern areas of Pakistan are inhabited by illiterate people whose mindsets are similar to those who lived in the stone Age. I was in Swat with my wife and two daughters when a cleric in the adjoining district of Malakand asked his followers to kidnap any unveiled women in the area and bring them to him. He said he would immediately give the unveiled women in marriage to their kidnappers. Needless to say, I hurriedly left the place and have never gone there again.

Embed from Getty Images

So it wasn't surprising that the wild-eyed, heavily bearded Taliban captured Swat and the adjoining districts to impose their own version of Islam and Sharia on the hapless populace. The biggest damage they did to the country was in persuading women not to get their kids vaccinated against polio. They also banned education for girls, burning down many schools in the process.

Before Taliban rule, Swat was quite different from other places in the northern areas. So it was only natural that female literacy was higher in Swat than in the adjoining districts. This must have irked the Taliban, who believe that women are meant to be baby-producing machines, to be confined inside their houses twenty four hours a day and 365 days a year.

In this claustrophobic climate for women, Malala started writing about the atrocities committed by the Taliban. She was already well-known to the outside world before she was shot in the face by the Taliban. After treatment abroad, she was awarded the Nobel prize, the second Pakistani national to be so honored. It was for this reason that most Pakistanis became convinced that she is an agent of the Western powers and is therefore hated so much. An ex-professor I know also says she is an enemy of the country. 

Yesterday, someone objected to her photo in a book prescribed for schools in KP, and the book was banned. Before that, her book launching ceremony two years ago was not allowed to take place. And now that the Taliban are expected to conquer Afghanistan soon, our leaders want to assure them that Pakistanis are as good Muslims as they are, so they have started taking steps to prevent Malala and other prominent women of Pakistan from being projected as good Pakistanis. 

I predict that in the years to come, it will be people like Malala, Sharmeen Chinoy and Hamid Mir who will be regarded as our heroes. But that will be at least fifty years from now.

After Taliban's victory, Pakistan's survival is at stake

So the Americans suddenly vacated the huge Bagram air base without even informing the Afghans that they were leaving. This proves that they don't trust the Afghans, even after spending two trillion dollars in that country over two decades. Just what did they achieve? The Taliban have repeatedly said they will impose their strict version of Islam in their country, even though Pakistan agreed that they will not support this measure. 

An interesting theory is making the rounds nowadays. It seems likely that the Americans agreed to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, after the latter agreed to keep China out of their country. Perhaps this explains the recent talks the Taliban held with Pakistan's arch enemy India. Pakistan will find itself surrounded on all sides now by those who don't want it to be friends with China. Most likely, the Americans will insist on Pakistan denuclearizing itself, something the Indians would love to see happening. And of one thing we can be sure: the Taliban will soon set their sights on Pakistan, as they don't recognize the Durand Line (the defacto border between the two countries). 

Recently the army chief held in-camera meetings with some parliamentarians to discuss the situation after the Taliban takeover next door. It seems he's finally realized that he needs the support of all political parties to defend the country.

Whatever happens, the future is bleak. Only if our politicians unite against the enemy will they be able to save Pakistan from disintegrating.

Pakistan should not allow U.S. bases for attacks on Taliban

After twenty years of conflict in which the U.S. spent trillions of dollars, it is getting ready to withdraw from Afghanistan. It's a foregone conclusion that the Taliban will move in and occupy Kabul, as they did before. Afghanistan will descend into another civil war.

But the Americans have indicated that they will maintain a presence in the region. How they will do this is not clear, but there are rumors that Pakistan is one of the countries where they will try to control Afghanistan from outside. The puppet government of Imran Khan has immediately denied that Pakistan will ever allow U.S. bases on its soil, but unfortunately no one trusts this government. One hopes it will not repeat the mistakes of Zia and Musharraf who bent over backwards and dragged the country into an unnecessary war. 

The Taliban themselves have warned neighboring countries not to assist the U.S. “As we have repeatedly assured others that our soil will not be used against security of others, we are similarly urging others not to use their soil and airspace against our country”. But as in the past, can the Taliban be trusted? They have not stopped their attacks in Afghanistan even after the peace talks in Doha. The non-representative government of Ashraf Ghani, an Indian puppet, will not be able to hold out for more than a few months before being overthrown by the rebels. One feels sorry for Afghan women, who will again be treated like chattels, losing the twenty years of freedom they enjoyed during occupation of the country by foreign forces. I doubt if the Taliban have changed at all, they will continue to believe that allowing girls and women to work and study is a grave sin in Islam.

Premature celebration over US withdrawal from Afghanistan

If there's one thing we should learn from history, it's that the Taliban will wreak havoc again if they're allowed to take over Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. Yet our leaders claim to have won a major victory after US and Taliban delegations met in Qatar and the US agreed to withdraw its troops in eighteen months. Shah Mahmood Qureishi chortled like a kid who's just been given a ton of chocolates, crowing at the "success" of his foreign policy. The truth is, as the Taliban said after the talks, nothing has been decided yet. 

But if, God forbid, the Taliban are allowed to rule over Afghanistan again, it will be bad for the whole world, particularly Pakistan. We'll see a flood of refugees pouring into the country, unveiled Afghan women will be killed for appearing in public, and all those who were part of the current government or supported it will be executed. Drugs and weapons will flood Pakistani markets, wreaking havoc with our economy.

If there's one thing that should cheer our hearts, it's that India has lost much face. It has invested billions to help Afghanistan, but if the rebels win, they will boot all Indians out of the country.

The only solution is that troops from Muslim countries should be allowed to keep the peace in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. But that will not be acceptable to the rebels.

Whatever happens, we're headed towards many more years of turmoil.

Should we ask the Taliban to take over the country?

Security threat

Published in Dawn on January 2, 2015

With reference to your editorial “Security threat” (December 22). Sometimes it seems that we can never win the war against terrorists when we hear that the Sindh Chief Minister wants to buy another helicopter worth Rs. 1.6 billion for his personal use. Or when we see six police vehicles standing outside the houses of provincial ministers in Karachi’s DHA; and when we see police mobile vans with women and children shopping in Sunday Bazaar. If our leaders believe that the entire security budget should be spent only on protecting themselves and not the ordinary people, we may as well hand the country over to the Taliban.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Taliban apologists should be shunned!

Protesting against apologists

Published in The Express Tribune on December 25, 2014.

KARACHI: With reference to the article “Protesting against apologists” by Basil Nabi Malik (December 23), if the electronic media cannot give adequate coverage to moderate and liberal people, at least it should not invite those who are known to have made controversial statements.

Someone like the former Amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami Munnawar Hassan should especially be avoided who advised rape victims not to report the crime to the police and suffer in silence. It is people like him who have brainwashed the people of this country. They are the ones who should be ostracised.

Shakir

Lakhani

https://tribune.com.pk/story/811755/protesting-against-apologists-2/

Taliban: no option but to fight to the last

Waiting game

Published in Daily Times on April 30, 2014

Sir: In reference to your editorial ‘Waiting game’ (April 29), I know many people who think the rebels cannot be defeated. They forget that in the nineteenth century the British were able to quell rebellion in our wild northern areas. The Taliban believe that they are on high moral ground because our politicians literally begged them to hold talks. The sooner a military action is taken against them, the better will it be for us. Unless we take the militants head on, we are not safe.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Why I will not vote for the Jamaat-e-Islami

Misconceptions about the Jamaat

Published in The Express Tribune on April 18, 2014

Embed from Getty Images

KARACHI: This is with reference to the article “Misconceptions about the Jamaat” (April 17). I was once a supporter of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), but when I saw its activists disrupting musical functions and beating up male and female students seated together on benches in Karachi University, I became disillusioned with the party. From what I have observed, the only intelligent head of this party was the late Qazi Hussain Ahmed.

Once, during an hour-long chat with him, he told me that an Islamic society is permitted to punish only those who are guilty of theft, murder and illicit sex. There is no punishment in Islam for ‘sins’ like being clean-shaven. He also said that there is no punishment (neither in this world or the Hereafter) for a woman who does not observe purdah. Compare this with former JI chief Syed Munawwar Hassan’s fatwa about rape victims or his statement that soldiers who were killed by the Taliban cannot be called martyrs. Because of such radical elements in the party, it is very likely that if the JI ever gets a two-thirds majority in Parliament (in coalition with other religious parties) it will immediately ban all forms of entertainment (like movies, theatre and television).

Shakir Lakhani

Taliban & Pakistan's vulnerable minorities

Vulnerable people

Published in DAWN on March 5, 2014

THIS is apropos your editorial ‘Vulnerable communities’ and Irfan Husain’s article ‘Life under Taliban’ (Feb 22). After the recent talks with the militants we now know what they mean by Sharia: all non-Muslims and those Muslims who do not follow their version of Islam should immediately be forced to convert or be killed.

All cinema houses, barber shops and shops selling music/video films should be bombed. Women should be allowed to leave their houses only in emergencies, female education be banned and boys be educated only in madressahs.

As for the Kalash and Ismailis, whom the Taliban have threatened to kill, they can either migrate en masse or take up arms in self-defence. Taliban supporters, like some of our leaders, will be happy to live under their rule.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

https://www.dawn.com/news/1091114/vulnerable-people

No use talking to the Taliban!

More on Taleban talks

Published in Khaleej Times on February 16, 2014.

During the height of the cold war, the attitude of the Russians was, “What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable”.

This is exactly what the Taleban are saying to us. They want the state to stop arresting militants and to ignore the repeated suicide bombing of our cities and killing of our policemen and soldiers. As Gen Pervez Musharraf once said, “There is no use talking to them, they think they are right and everyone else is wrong.”

We all knew that these talks would serve no purpose other than allow the Taleban to regroup and capture more territory, which will happen when their demand for withdrawal of the army from Waziristan is accepted. Those who favour talks should realise that if the war is lost, it’s the people who will suffer, since the politicians will flee to safe havens where they have property and huge bank accounts.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Taleban's brilliant googly!

Taleban googly

Published in Khaleej Times, February 5, 2014

 

The selection of Imran Khan by the Taleban to negotiate with the government on their behalf is a brilliant move by the militants. It proves that they have advisers who are much smarter than the ones the Pakistani prime minister has. I urge Imran Khan to agree to the Taleban request. After all, his party’s agenda during the elections was to hold talks with the militants. He should consider it an honour to be thus selected by them to negotiate on their behalf.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Which terrorist do we address?

Published in Daily Times on October 21, 2013

Sir: With reference to your editorial, ‘Terrorism galore’ (Daily Times, October 19, 2013) the problem is, whom do we talk to? Apparently, there are many groups of terrorists out there and no one is sure about which is the dominant one. Even if you identify and hold talks with the ones doing the most damage, the others will continue doing their worst to destabilise the country. Moreover, most Taliban sympathisers are convinced that those who are killing people indiscriminately cannot be Muslims. So, why not find these non-Muslims first and talk to them instead of the Taliban?

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

True face of Taliban

‘True face

Published in DAWN on October 10, 2013

THIS refers to your editorial ‘True face of TTP’ (Oct 6) regarding the Taliban spokesman’s claim that the Peshawar church bombing was in accordance with the Sharia.

Will Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif still want to talk to these people with a stone age mindset?

Next thing you know they will say that only those who follow their twisted version of Islam should be allowed to continue living, while all others (like Shias, Barelvis and other Sunni sub-sects) should be killed.

It is time the government did something about sermons given in mosques and what is taught in the country’s madressahs.

The mosque prayer leaders should be given the topics to be mentioned in Friday sermons, while madressah students should be educated in art and science subjects, as well as in the country’s laws.

They should be taught that since Allah has created all human beings, it is a deadly sin to take human life unless it is done in self-defence.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi