Why I chose Imran Khan
Imran Khan is a name that comes up often in political debates among people affiliated with Pakistan. In times of trouble many see him as a ray of hope in a jungle of darkness. Others however, have accused him of playing popular politics, not taking a stance on important issues, and – when I heard this it blew my mind – being a terrorist sympathiser. Opinions differ (but not evenly) and though Imran Khan has tremendous support from the youth of the country, bashing his politics is also extremely popular in newspapers and the social media. I, as a convinced ...
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Fatima Bhutto and her songs of blood, sword and fairytales
She was beautiful. She was eloquent. She was vivid, and witty. Yet while orating at the Sydney Writers’ Festival Fatima Bhutto also managed to be naïve, hollow and juvenile. Seemingly, the trauma of her beloved father’s death has not left her and this, unfortunately, has become an indistinguishable part of her personality – to discuss her experiences while speculating about national issues. Her recent speech clearly epitomises the emblem of her book, “Songs of Blood and Sword,” published in April, 2010, that is, selective amnesia and fiction in the absence of fact. Her speech starts with the popular state propagated narrative of politician ...
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TEDx Karachi: Reflections on inspiration
TEDxKarachi 2011 was an event for the elite. It had a political slant to it. The line to get in was long, the air-conditioning sucked, there were too many technical glitches with the microphones, the snacks were mediocre and there were people there that didn’t deserve to be invited over many others that weren’t there. The talks were not all exactly what we see at TED Global. Yet I returned from the event thinking that making the impossible was possible. I returned with some ideas that inspired me. People went to TEDx Karachi with different mindsets. A lot showed up wanting to ...
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Robots with guns (and morals?)
Robotic warfare is here. US soldiers are killing insurgents across the world with remote controlled drones. A worried UN investigator Christof Heyns has urged the UN to set up a panel on the ethics of robot weapons. We in Pakistan are fighting faceless machines now, they appear out of nowhere, shoot us down and disappear. The right kind of war Would you want a war where your sole existence depends on the decision of a machine which cannot see, hear or feel? War is supposed to have consequences that may be lost if the current trend of robotic warfare continues. When war is dehumanized and ...
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Are drone attacks really worth it?
On September 20, 2001, while addressing a joint session of the US Congress, then US president George W. Bush said: “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” These words really changed our world, as our rulers sided with them instead of our own people. An inroad into our airspace In less than a month on October 7 2001, the US military started its operation Enduring Freedom to eliminate safe havens of al-Qaeda and in search of Osama Bin Laden. Cities and towns all over Afghanistan were pounded through ...
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Welcome to Zombieland: 170m walking dead
I ask you to define sovereignty. Can you? Can anyone on earth define it? Slaves never learn the meaning of sovereignty. They don’t react to anything as it is their nature to serve their masters. Sovereignty it seems only rests with Europeans or Americans. Pakistanis don’t even deserve to speak this word. The only time they can is to say things like “parliament is a sovereign institution.” The story starts from a time when a dictator was in Government. He was a good Muslim but took upon himself to attack mosques. He was indeed a good economist but he believed ...
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For those who have seen drone attacks
Many believe Izzat Gul did not die a fair death in South Waziristan. ”When these infidels could not equal the valour of Izzat Gul, they most dastardly sent a drone to get rid of him. These hell seekers have also martyred two of his young children and his wife,” says Esar Mehsud, who joined the files of Taliban four years ago and has become a force to reckon with in his own right. Amidst the political furore it is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to answer for the numerous drone attacks. Government officials remain tight-lipped when asked if drone ...
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Dollars for death: Should the US compensate civilian deaths?
Sometime ago reports were published in the Washington Post and The New York Times, and even in the Pakistani media, which said that CIA is using new, smaller missiles and advanced surveillance techniques to minimise civilian casualties in its targeted killings of suspected insurgents in Pakistan’s tribal areas. According to reports, US officials do acknowledge a number of civilian casualties caused by the CIA’s drone strikes. Although there is persistent debate on the exact number of such casualties, one thing is indisputable – the militants targeted by drones are said to be “suspected.” How does one define a “suspected” militant? According to me a ...
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No ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Taliban
Militancy has not only changed the lives of countless people in territories east of the Durand Line, but also made several drone and suicide attacks, Taliban and Blackwater, household terms across the country. The Pakistani version of Taliban has also gone under a metamorphosis. What started as local Taliban or neo Taliban were then called fasadis and now terrorists. Following the US’s mulling over withdrawal from Afghanistan, they came to be classified into good and bad. The ‘good’ Taliban in Afghanistan are those ready to enter into talks with the US-led coalition and those who do not attacks Pakistani targets. Also, ...
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Drone attacks may stop, but is that good news?
A 29 page report submitted today to the UN Human Rights Council, by special representative Philip Alston demanding an immediate suspension of drone attacks will not persuade Obama’s war cabinet to change course; but an ever growing domestic opposition appears promising. In categorical terms Philip Alston told journalists at the UN media stakeout today that those dropping bombs in Pakistan are so distant from the combat zone that they are “desensitised” – as though they were playing video games. Alston said: “because operators are based thousands of miles away from the battlefield, and undertake operations entirely through computer screens and remote ...
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