Pages

Friday, May 6, 2011

We Are Isolated



American Special forces’ operation in Abbottabad in early hours of Monday brought about the killing of most wanted man on this planet. This auspicious news came on the international horizon as United States’ President Barack Obama delivered a speech to his nation and even Pakistani administration got this news from him. How good of President Obama for keeping Pakistan in the loop.

We all should be happy and jubilant from this ecstatic news but why aren’t we happy? We got the world’s most wanted person and US President himself thanked Pakistan for their help and we, apparently, received a pat on the back. Shouldn’t we celebrate with the American people? But, wait a minute, what do we have here? Our faces are strung with this news. Why aren’t we jubilant?

The victorious statements of leaders all over the world and even from our own rulers bring nothing but shame to us. We are ashamed that there were foreign troops on our land operating without even letting us know. Hamid Karzai pounced on the opportunity of maligning Pakistan once again by calling Pakistan a haven for terrorists. Frankly speaking, I don’t care much about what the outsiders have to say about Pakistan. It is the silence of our rulers and tight-lipped stance of our allies like China that makes me feel gob smacked.

Like every other Pakistani, I wonder what ambition does United States has behind this act. Whether they want to prove that their decade long war is just or is it just about extension of another four years term of Obama administration. Whatever the objectives, US is in a win-win situation. It has given its war on terror an impetus and has successfully got a reason to leave Afghanistan, if it wants to. On the other hand, Pakistan, as always, has been on the receiving side of all the negatives. Indian media is claiming Pakistan to be caught red handed and western media is criticising Pakistan for not doing enough and above all refusing from time to time that Osama is not in Pakistan.

I remember when the first missile attack from the NATO forces in Damadola struck a madrassah which killed innocent students, I thought it was a mistake on their part and it won’t happen again but I was completely wrong and since then drone attacks have been wreaking havoc with constant bombardment. Same was the case with the presence of private security contractors like DynCorp and XE (Blackwater), when a retired SSG Captain was detained for hiring professionals for these mercenaries. I also thought that it would put a full-stop to their activities but no, we had the Raymond Davis fiasco, a DoD Contractor who killed two Pakistanis in daylight. Same is happening now. I fear that this operation of foreign troops on our land does not become a regular occurrence like before.

I recently watched a movie, The A-Team, in which US soldiers go behind enemy lines or even on the territory of an ally to achieve their desired objectives. I, literally, loved the way they executed their missions and killed enemies for fun but now when the Abbottabad mission has happened on my soil, I don’t feel the same for them even though Osama was a common enemy.

Pakistan, in the age of globalization, is getting more isolated from time to time. Our supposedly strategic partner United States, whose war is being fought by us, doesn’t even trust us. Our eternal friend China is not breaking its silence and letting the world know its stance. Above all, I heard a media report that Pakistani radars were jammed before the operation, I am wondering, if we are that much vulnerable then why we polish our tanks and missiles for 23rd March. Of what use are they, if they can be jammed easily. Irony is that this all was happening under our nose and we were completely unaware of that.

The question has arrived that whether world will be safe after the demise of Osama. All the stake holders have been quick to denounce that and after his demise, they are after the ones who carry his ideology. I fear that after all this, United States could be safer, in fact it always was but Pakistan will have to face the music. Pakistan, a nuclear power, has once again come under the radar of western powers and they are ready to question the commitment of Pakistan in combating terrorism. Leave combating; some are labeling Pakistan of abetting the terrorists.

The message for us from the outer world is clear that we are on our own. We have to realise that we are out of time and the world’s perception about Pakistan is getting worse day by day. If my dear rulers and military establishment hasn’t got the message yet, let me sound it to them: Respected Sir! We are isolated and on our own. Time to streamline our path.

0 comments: