The latest news is that Pakistan has struck a peace deal with the Taliban (and it isn't just the Pakistanis who are knuckling under it is the Danish too). Where to start, where to start. Well let's start by saying not all Pakistanis with any authority think it is sane. But the fundamentals of the deal are that the Taliban will be allowed to administer the territory under Islamic law, despite the fact that Pakistan has 12,000 troops in the region, and the Taliban only about 3,000. Despite a superiority ratio of 4:1, the Pakistanis will give in. Why is this, and what is the history?
The Northwest Frontier Province has long been problematic. In the 19th Century Reza Khan led a rebellion against the governing authorities there, and when he concluded a peace treaty, one of his former followers, Sayyid Ahmed Barelwi, broke from his movement and created his own. Barelwi was a curious mix of Sufi (Chigishtiyya, Muhammadiyya) and Wahhabi. Writing a book on Tawhid (the ubiquitous theme of all the works of Bin Abd al-Wahhab himself) entitled Sirat al-Mustaqim (The Straight Path). It may be coincidence (or not) that Barelwi was a Sufi, and the Taliban has its roots in the Deobandi Sufi Tariqa in the Subcontinent. For my money, Barelwi is the most important progenitor of Islamic resistance in the NWFP. And to this day, the NWFP maintains its staunch Islamic character.
One would be right to ask, "Why would the Pakistanis do this?" And the answer isn't quite so easy. Pakistan has a number of strategic concerns which flow directly through the NWFP. First is that Pakistan still fears India and wants to keep the NWFP both placated and a contiguous portion of Pakistan for the purpose of strategic depth if a conflict were to arise with India (which doesn't seem all too remote at this point). Indeed this has been an overt policy for the Pakistanis, and it is also why a porous border with Afghanistan provides some benefits for the Pakistanis as well.
Why else would they do this? Well the ISI (Pakistani intelligence, which, along with the military, has great power in Pakistan) has long maintained a working relationship with the Taliban. The reason, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan is Pashtun (roughly 34%) and Pashtuns make up (16%) of the Pakistani population. The ISI fears that any form of ethnic nationalism (Pashtun) in Afghanistan could spread to its own Pashtun population creating great instability and overcoming the unity enjoyed in a nominally 'Islamic' state. Thus the ISI has a strong interest in keeping Afghanistan defined on religious terms, and the Taliban is integral to this. Thus the Pakistanis are all too willing to allow the Taliban to fester, and to allow the border to be a relative non-issue with regards to the movement of their forces.
What will the results be? More of the same. Persecution of minority religious groups, degredation of women, and destruction of schools (especially girls schools). Yes indeed, the Pakistani government plans to allow the Taliban authorities there to administer Shariah law in the NWFP. This will spell doom for women and minorities in the region. Already women are being beheaded for perceived violations of "morality", and we can only expect this trend to increase once the Pakistanis give formal approval for such behaviors. And what is the response of the west? The US remains silent, and the ever obsequious British have begun broadcasting messages begging Pakistanis not to attack (or hate) the British. Once again British cowardice and capitulation requires a special aside in a post here. It is truly stunning the depths to which the British will sink in their Islamo-sycophancy, perhaps if they beg and plead enough... nah.
Any hope for a decent life for the people of the NWFP is now lost. And all the British can do is beg for mercy. Someone get me a drink.
The Northwest Frontier Province has long been problematic. In the 19th Century Reza Khan led a rebellion against the governing authorities there, and when he concluded a peace treaty, one of his former followers, Sayyid Ahmed Barelwi, broke from his movement and created his own. Barelwi was a curious mix of Sufi (Chigishtiyya, Muhammadiyya) and Wahhabi. Writing a book on Tawhid (the ubiquitous theme of all the works of Bin Abd al-Wahhab himself) entitled Sirat al-Mustaqim (The Straight Path). It may be coincidence (or not) that Barelwi was a Sufi, and the Taliban has its roots in the Deobandi Sufi Tariqa in the Subcontinent. For my money, Barelwi is the most important progenitor of Islamic resistance in the NWFP. And to this day, the NWFP maintains its staunch Islamic character.
One would be right to ask, "Why would the Pakistanis do this?" And the answer isn't quite so easy. Pakistan has a number of strategic concerns which flow directly through the NWFP. First is that Pakistan still fears India and wants to keep the NWFP both placated and a contiguous portion of Pakistan for the purpose of strategic depth if a conflict were to arise with India (which doesn't seem all too remote at this point). Indeed this has been an overt policy for the Pakistanis, and it is also why a porous border with Afghanistan provides some benefits for the Pakistanis as well.
Why else would they do this? Well the ISI (Pakistani intelligence, which, along with the military, has great power in Pakistan) has long maintained a working relationship with the Taliban. The reason, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan is Pashtun (roughly 34%) and Pashtuns make up (16%) of the Pakistani population. The ISI fears that any form of ethnic nationalism (Pashtun) in Afghanistan could spread to its own Pashtun population creating great instability and overcoming the unity enjoyed in a nominally 'Islamic' state. Thus the ISI has a strong interest in keeping Afghanistan defined on religious terms, and the Taliban is integral to this. Thus the Pakistanis are all too willing to allow the Taliban to fester, and to allow the border to be a relative non-issue with regards to the movement of their forces.
What will the results be? More of the same. Persecution of minority religious groups, degredation of women, and destruction of schools (especially girls schools). Yes indeed, the Pakistani government plans to allow the Taliban authorities there to administer Shariah law in the NWFP. This will spell doom for women and minorities in the region. Already women are being beheaded for perceived violations of "morality", and we can only expect this trend to increase once the Pakistanis give formal approval for such behaviors. And what is the response of the west? The US remains silent, and the ever obsequious British have begun broadcasting messages begging Pakistanis not to attack (or hate) the British. Once again British cowardice and capitulation requires a special aside in a post here. It is truly stunning the depths to which the British will sink in their Islamo-sycophancy, perhaps if they beg and plead enough... nah.
Any hope for a decent life for the people of the NWFP is now lost. And all the British can do is beg for mercy. Someone get me a drink.
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3 comments:
Al, While I agree with most of what you say, I disagree with your comments concerning Pakistan's continued fear of India. Given the recent events in Mumbai which were ripe for exploitation by both sides, cooler heads prevailed and a spirit of cooperation unheard of in the past has been forged between the current administrations.
Continued rhetoric from both sides is nothing more than appeasement to the masses. They are both probably more afraid of China than of each other. To emphasize my point, it should be remembered, Pakistan's biggest trading partner is India. Commerce overcomes everything. jcw aka kaiserkriss
Well fair enough. But the Indian government recently said Pakistani intelligence was involved. Pakistan may well choose to be a client state of China instead of the US, if the US pushes too hard. The Kashmir issue continues to be a thorn. Especially as the "jihad" seems to take this quite seriously.
Again, you might be right.
Catch the cricket? Seems the deal with the devil has come to haunt them. Luckily no Sri Lankan players killed but Pakistan isn't going to be hosting cricket for a few years to come. 7 policemen and a bus driver killed.
BBC's Have Your Say is interesting - a lot of Pakistani "Not my religion!" comments...
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