Shia killing on the rise in Pakistan

The last two months have witnessed a surge in Shia killing, with tragic instances in Kohistan (K-PK), Parachinar (FATA), Khanpur (Punjab), and Quetta, Karachi, and D.I. Khan. The causes, again, are complex, and the local, national, and international forces all appear entangled. For one, I doubt that Jundallah (based in the Balochistan province, which claimed responsibility of the Kohistan attack on Feb 28) could have done this attack without support of the local militant groups in that remote area of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (that is, if Jundallah did indeed carry out this attack). Jundallah's Washington connection is also well known. The attackers were also said to be wearing army uniforms.

On the interconnections among various militant groups and their foreign supporters as identified in wikileaks cables, see here.

The Pakistani media -- and police -- often frames the target killing of the Shias as a "sectarian conflict". The label implies that Pakistani Sunni and Shia communities are fighting against each other. That is far from the truth. The label also hides the fact that both Shias and Sunnis have been killed by the same militant groups (for instance, see here and here). The label, moreover, gives a sense of symmetry ("Sunnis kill Shias, then Shias kill Sunnis"), whereas in reality a disproportionally high number of Shias have been killed or injured in recent years. It is more appropriate to call the recent surge as "Shia" killing, not "sectarian" killing. Each incident also requires a nuanced analysis of the causes (consider, for instance, the entangled causes surrounding the December 2009 Ashura blast in Karachi).

Dawn Editorial: Trouble in Parachinar

For background, click here.

[Edit October 21, 2010: More from Dawn: "Haqqani’s two sons mediating in Kurram"]

Trouble in Parachinar
Editorial, Dawn, Sep 20, 2010
Source

The seemingly interminable violence in the Parachinar area of Kurram Agency has spiked once again. This time a water dispute between two of the four main tribes — Bangash and Mangal — has claimed the lives of over 100 people in weeklong fighting that shows no sign of abating. Water, along with other resources such as forests, has long been a source of inter-tribal rivalry in the agency, but what makes Kurram Agency doubly dangerous is that the violence has been thoroughly infused with sectarian hatreds — starting as far back as 1982, though much of the present blame must lie with the ingress of the Taliban in the area in 2007.

For a couple of years the area remained cut off from the rest of Pakistan with the closure of a key road; however, a political agreement signed in Murree and a limited military operation in the area has helped to reopen the Thall-Parachinar road. Limited traffic continues to move on the road, though many people of the area still use the Afghan route to travel to other parts of Pakistan because of the dangers involved. (The Afghan route is no less dangerous: in July, 11 residents of Parachinar who were en route to Peshawar via Kabul were ambushed and killed in Paktia.)

Bringing an end to the violence in Kurram Agency, and the Parachinar area in particular is a matter of the state taking its responsibilities more seriously. The agreement signed in Murree in October 2008 was in part possible because of the initiative of the then political agent of the agency, who has since been replaced. That agreement remains the best hope for the return of peace to the area and as such should be implemented in all earnestness. From the return of displaced persons, some of whom have not returned home since the 1982 violence, to the payment of compensation for property damaged and destroyed to the return of property confiscated, the agreement encompasses many sensible and pragmatic measures. In addition, cellphone services should be restored in the area (at present, locals have to use Afghan SIMs and networks, which adds to the difficulties of life).

By now it should be apparent that the longer Pakistan delays resolving the crisis in Kurram Agency, the more it will slip back towards the sphere of Afghan, and by extension American, influence. Such a development may only further complicate the resolution of the troubles in the area. The sooner the Murree accord is implemented the better. Unfortunately, implementation isn’t the state’s strongest suit.

Dawn: Militants kidnap 60 in Kurram tribal region

[Edit May 16, 2010: Dawn update - Militants free 50 hostages kidnapped on Saturday]

For a background of clashes in Kurram, see previous IS posts here.

Militants kidnap 60 in Kurram tribal region
Dawn, May 15, 2010
Source

PARACHINAR: Suspected militants dressed as policemen kidnapped about 60 people in troubled northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border on Saturday, government and police officials said.

Heavily armed militants first seized a vehicle belonging to the government power utility in the Kurram region and kidnapped four people travelling inside. The vehicle was set on fire.

Shortly afterwards, several vehicles were seized from a convoy of civilians travelling to Parachinar, the main city in Kurram.

Officials initially said 30 people were kidnapped but later said 57 people had been taken from the convoy.

“The militants were posing as policemen and wearing police uniforms,” said Mir Chaman, a senior police official in the nearby town of Thal.

Government officials in Kurram confirmed the incident and said efforts were under way to recover the kidnapped people.

The Pakistani military has mounted offensives against militants in their strongholds in the northwest over the past year, largely clearing several areas, killing hundreds of militants and destroying their bases.

A large number of militants, officials say, have fled to Kurram and neighbouring regions after the military launched a major operation against them in their South Waziristan bastion near the Afghan border in mid-October last year.

Security forces have intensified air strikes on militant targets in Kurram and adjoining areas in recent weeks.

The militants have shown resilience and carried out a wave of suicide and bomb attacks, mainly in the northwest, killing hundreds of people.

Update on the Northern Areas and Kurram Agency

The lower Kurram areas have long been a hideout for Taliban militants and criminals from other agencies and even from across the volatile border. And that is one major reason why this agency has experienced violence and turmoil in the last few years, which is however often dubbed as "sectarian" in the media.

The road from Thal to Parachinar has been opened. On Sunday, Nov 15, after another year of blockade (following the short-lived opening last year), 25 trucks loaded with food, medicine, and other basic supplies reached Parachinar, the agency capital. The local people, Kurram Militia, and the Government all worked together to make this happen. The government has also promised to set up 7 check posts along the road. 25 trucks, as should be obvious, is not enough for hundreds of thousands of residents of upper Kurram who are barely surviving. The residents of these areas do not have high expectations from the government. They are not asking for aid, just security and open passage so they can get their regular supplies from within Pakistan and wouldn't have to cross the border into Afghanistan. The Afghan route is both very costly and dangerous. I certainly hope that the government and its security apparatus deliver their promise this time.

25 trucks carrying edibles reach Parachinar
Monday, November 16, 2009, The News
Source

PARACHINAR: A convoy of security forces’ vehicles carrying edibles Sunday arrived here as the Parachinar-Sadda-Thall Road reopened after a closure for three years.

Official sources said 25 trucks of the security forces carrying food, medicines and other necessary items reached Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency. The arrival of the convoy with food items sent a wave of happiness among the residents as they had been facing severe shortage of edibles and medicines due to blockade of roads by militants.

Kurram Militia Commander Col Tausif Akhtar led the convoy named as ‘Peace Convoy,’ which was accorded a warm welcome by the residents at Balishkhel checkpost. The residents hoped the government would continue supply of foodstuffs and other goods to the agency and take steps for reopening of roads.

Gunship helicopters target Lower Kurram
Dawn, November 22, 2009
Source

PESHAWAR: As forces pound militant hideouts in Kurram Agency, residents flee to safer areas due to the threat of a possible military operation.

According to official sources, gunship helicopters targeted various areas of lower Kurram. It is beleived that the hideouts belong to militants linked to banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. On the other hand, residents of central Kurram have started migrating to safer areas.

Also, in Orakzai agency, militant hideouts in Mishti and Shahokhel areas were desroyed in airstrikes. Sources in the area claim that ongoing military operation in South Waziristan has forced militants to flee to areas of Lower, Central Kurram and Orakzai ageny.

Gilgit-Baltistan: next phase
Editorial, Daily Times, November 17, 2009
Source

The Election Commission (EC) has announced the official results in 19 constituencies for the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Reflecting closely the unofficial results, the EC awarded 12 seats to the People’s Party while the remaining seats were shared by the other parties. The results for four seats are still awaited. The disturbing aspect of the tail-end of electioneering for the first-ever legislative assembly in the recently designated autonomous region is the squabble between political parties over charges of rigging, pre-poll as well as on the polling day. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was quick to refute the charges of unfair electoral practices a day after the election. The second tier party leadership too has echoed the same views. However, the EC has already ordered re-polling in some parts of Diamer District. The PML-Q and MQM have protested against what they termed as “unfair manipulation of the electoral process by the ruling party to get their candidates elected”. However, the PML-Q leadership struck a positive note by announcing that “the result will be accepted for the sake of ensuring the continuity of the democratic process in the country.” This caveat was somewhat at odds with democratic norms. Citing “strategic national interests”, Chaudhry Shujaat demanded a consensus government in the region. The term “consensus” seems to be the newfound panacea for all political forces with poor showing at the ballot box or those elements who wish to paralyse the incumbent government of a highly polarised society. PML-Q has so far won one seat in the GB election. The demand for a “consensus government” when the PPP appears to have won a comfortable simple majority is tantamount to placing “consensus” over and above the electorate’s mandate.

Sadly, the appearance of democratic tolerance displayed by the top political leadership was less evident at the grassroots level where skirmishes broke out among the activists of various political parties and supporters of candidates. In two separate incidents of violence, PPP activists clashed with the supporters of the PML-N and MQM. Several people were injured and when the police appeared unable to pacify the situation, the local administration imposed Section 144 in Skardu. On a pleasantly surprising note, the local religious leaders of various sects were seen helping the administration towards the restoration of normalcy in the area.

Disagreements regarding the fairness or validity of the electoral process or the results thereof are normal, especially in South Asia. However, our constitutional scheme has laid out a clear procedure and a proper platform to seek redress in such a contingency, namely the EC. It is advisable for the aggrieved political parties to approach the EC with any evidence of electoral malpractices. To demand directly from the government that re-polling be held in certain constituencies where alleged discrepancies have occurred appears more like an exercise in political point scoring than observance of genuine democratic procedures. In this context, the statement of the regional PPP chief seems more in conformity with the ground realities. He has hinted at the possibility of forming a coalition government with the parties that are already part of the government at the centre. *

Bahrain and Pakistan: The Shia Dilemmas

(Bahrain's Shia Majority Claims Discrimination - Al Jazeera - May 1, 2009)



(Bahrain, Poverty Down the Sectarian Lines - CNN - Mar 3, 2007)

IN Bahrain, the rulers are engaged in a concerted effort to shift the demographic make-up along the sectarian lines. In a population of around a million, if the government brings in new Sunni immigrants from Syria, Jordan, and other countries in hundreds of thousands that is surely going to raise concerns among the local Shias who are more than 70-80% of the population.

Another issue is that of fair representation in the parliament and other political institutions. Bahraini Shias have also demanded fair representation and opportunities in social and cultural spheres. Social includes educational and job opportunities. Cultural includes representation of their voices and cultural symbols in the public sphere. They complain that their voices are underrepresented and their symbols (like Shia mosques) have been literally kept off the main streets of Bahrain.

The Bahraini Shias are also concerned that foreign personnel, usually from South Asia, serve in the law enforcement agencies. One, the selection criteria in this “foreign deputation” (as it is called in Pakistan) for Bahrain is strictly limited to Sunnis. Two, since these personnel usually do not speak Arabic, their contact is minimal with the local population. Tactfully employing religious, linguistic, and ethnic differences and distances indicates the obvious Machiavellian politics on the part of the rulers, who want to maintain their domination at any cost.

The underlying logic of the conflict is that of power and powerlessness, although sectarian communities are certainly being targeted. But the fight is not between Sunni and Shia masses. It is between a marginalized Shia community and the oppressive rulers who are also supported and influenced by the neighboring Arab regimes.

If Shias do get the legitimate rights they are demanding that would effectively shift the political configuration of the Bahraini state. Hence not only the rulers but also the Arab status quo, dictatorial regimes (Saudi, Jordan, Egypt) perceive the Shia demands as a threat. Their strategy has been to blame Iran for causing agitation among Bahraini Shias. Whether Iran is actually doing that or not, those charges certainly distract attention from the oppressive policies of the Bahraini rulers.

Blaming it on Iran or the so-called “the emergence of Shia crescent” also has a broader utility for the geo-politics of the region: Hamas is now labeled as a Shia organization and Lebanese supposedly speak Farsi! The popularity of Hezbollah's and Hamas' and the Iranian leaders in the Arab world and South Asia - among both Sunnis and Shias - creeps out these Arab regimes. These regimes have always been wary of (1.) the rise of any prominent Arab leader on the inter-regional level (like Gamal Abdul Nasser) who might potentially politicize their subjects/populations, and (2.) their Palestinian refugee populations (an example is in the Jordanian Black September of 1970). During and after the Gaza massacre, the provocative statements by these status quo regimes and also the recent move by Morocco to cut ties with Iran are indications of their bewilderment.

How conflicts are framed in the global media therefore becomes very crucial. Also how Shias engage with their Sunni brothers, how they frame their grievances, and how they protest, whether in the West or in other parts of the world, requires active caution and strategic thinking.

Internal vs. External

In the media, the adjective "sectarian" is often used as the description as well as the explanation of the conflict: that the doctrinal differences and supposedly inherent hatred between the two sects explain the nature of the current conflict(s). That's obviously too simplistic - it emphasizes the religious dimensions at the expense of the political. The region-specific dynamics of conflicts are often ignored in the media to create smooth narratives. It is unfortunate that at times many Sunni and Shias also speak in these over generalized terms.

Even if one broadens the scope of explanation to other factors like internal power struggle, socio-economic discrimination, and rivalry among Muslim states, the focus still tends to be on the ‘internal’. The ‘external’ factors, like the role of foreign powers in forging sectarian conflict in colonial and postcolonial eras, are not given adequate weight. Even Vali Nasr's book “The Shia Revival”, although written in a much nuanced manner, couldn't escape this fragmented focus, as the subtitle of his books clearly states: 'How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future." Any prognosis of either Middle Eastern or South Asian politics however is inadequate without factoring in the role and interests of regional and global powers like the US, Israel, India, China, and Afghanistan.

The popularity of the “sectarian conflict” narrative (as both description and default explanation) poses serious challenges to those Shias and Sunnis who understand the actual dynamics of the conflicts in different regions and want to change the situation. How to raise voice against the injustice but at the same time not promote or multiply the effects of sectarian tensions? Especially considering that conflict in one region - say in Iraq or Bahrain - can have ripple effects on sectarian relations in other parts of world.

The Geo-political Connections

After the unexpected outcome of the summer 2006 Israeli war and then the recent loss of Israel in Gaza, both of which were also bitter losses for the US and the Arab status quo regimes, it became quite predictable that there will be an escalation in sectarian violence in sensitive regions of the world. The Saudi authorities, it seems, are deliberately trying to fan sectarian tensions using one tactic or another (for example, their recent move to put barriers around Jannatul Baqi.) [Edit May 20, 2009: See also here and here]

In Pakistan, the agencies-supported SSP (Sipahe Sahaba) and its allies re-surfaced last year. The connection among these security agencies, the militant SSP, and the Saudis is no secret. (Saudis, it seems, are also trying to revive the old Taliban in Afghanistan.) If the local militant groups in Pakistan were not allied with certain Taliban factions before, according to a recent NYTimes report (April 14, 2009), they are now.

The broader goal, it seems, is to keep both Shias and Sunnis in Pakistan busy. To break their united position on the Palestine and Lebanese resistance movements through the sectarian card. The local and national political circumstances in various regions of Pakistan are making this task (of fanning sectarian conflict) easily achievable (for example the recent clashes in Karachi).

Within this broad geo-political framework, one can see a parallel with the Shia dilemma in 1998 when the Taliban killed a number of Iranian officials in Mazar Sharif and there was a growing pressure on Iran to attack the Taliban in response, while in Pakistan the SSP and Lashkare Jhangvi were ready to do mass killing of Shias if Iran had attacked the Taliban. The two conflicts would have been framed together as a Sunni-Shia war, like the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, which was also instigated and framed likewise.

During the 18-month long siege of Parachinar, Pakistani Shias faced the same dilemma: if they complain that they are being targeted, the conflict will be framed as a sectarian conflict. The criminal elements and the local and foreign Taliban who were attacking them would be presented as representing the Sunni sentiments in Pakistan. The Shias knew that these criminal elements wanted to spread the conflict to the rest of Pakistan (the SSP leaders have repeatedly said that they are targeting Shias in D.I. Khan and other areas because "Sunnis" are being targeted in Parachinar.) The dilemma and challenge, again, was to speak out for justice and struggle for the legitimate rights without falling in the trap of "sectarian conflict".

The dynamics of the political conflict in Bahrain highlights both the country-specific causes and the geo-political connections. Given the variety of power configuration in different regions, Pakistan is a much more complicated case. Especially at stake at the moment are 1. The future of Islamist politics vis-a-vis liberal-secular prescriptions from inside and outside of Pakistan. And the fragile democracy: More and more people are talking about how things were much better under the military rule. 2. The political and economic stability. If the downward spiral continues, we may see a regime change very soon, possibly in the next two months: Either a direct military coup or a compromise between the US and the Pakistani military on Nawaz Sharif type character as a replacement 3. Pakistan's Nuclear assets. Both of these cases - Bahrain and Pakistan - highlight the dilemmas mentioned above.

If this analysis has any weight, Muslims - both Shias and Sunnis - in different regions of the world need to be extra-cautious in how they perceive and respond to any provocation - real or imaginary - from any side.

The Turmoil in Afghan-Pakistan Region: Need to put things into perspective

(Above: Afghan Civilian Deaths Breeding Extremism - Al Jazeera - April 27, 2009)

Too often the media has focused on the rhetoric of religious extremists. But that's only part of the picture. Why do some segments of the population find an appeal in their rhetoric? That question has not been looked at closely. The focus is usually on the 'internal'. The usual answer given is the madrassa: Students from under-served socio-economic backgrounds end up in these madrassas where they are brainwashed into becoming 'martyrs'. The external factors, like the one mentioned in the above report, are scarcely considered.

Perhaps even more important is to place the current situation in a sound historical framework. How were Taliban created? What was the context of their creation? Out of multitude of factions in Afghanistan, how come only they were able to consolidate power in the 1990s? What was the utility of Afghan Jihad for the global powers? Today, where are they getting their continuous supply of weapons from? In Pakistan, how come against the bombardment of ISAF/NATO/CIA in FATA and Pakistan Army's continuous campaign in the last many years, they are expanding like wildfire. Why is Army willing to negotiate with Taliban but uses an iron hand against the Baloch insurgents? How this political violence and the extremism it breeds legitimize the presence of global powers in the Afghan-Pakistan region (and, similarly, in Iraq for that matter)?

Concerning the Shia targeting (bombing and target killing) in Pakistan, an important question to consider is how in the face of ISAF/CIA/NATO' s and half-million- strong Pakistan Army's campaign, a few thousand Taliban and their local supporter groups could still open a third front against the Turi/Shia tribes in Kurram Agency (Parachinar, Pewaar, etc.) last year? Anyone familiar with the long history of Taliban and their supporter groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan knows that the timing of their attacks and their targets are usually very strategically calculated. Now whether they do this strategic thinking themselves or the 'hidden hands' behind them (while the Taliban factions consciously or unconsciously play in their hands), the important point is to discern the possible strategic goals. What's at stake in provoking Shias in the current political turmoil and how do they expect Shias to respond?

It's important to distinguish the pawns, the kings, and the actual players playing the game on the chessboard.

The point is not to emphasize one factor (internal or external) over the other (and silent the latter). It's about the need to develop a sound analysis of the ground realities.

Peshawar blast kills 34, mostly residents of Parachinar

The target of the blast, 'Saraye Alamdar-e-Karbala,' was a stay-house/motel and Imambargah in Peshawar frequented by the residents of the Kurram Agency. So far the blast has taken a toll of 34 lives, while injuring more than a hundred, including children. This is a very tragic incident, and, in the long run, may be very damaging to the recently signed peace accord in Kurram.

Death toll from Peshawar blast 34, probe begins
Daily Times, December 07, 2008
Source

PESHAWAR: The death toll from Friday’s car bomb explosion outside an imambargah in Peshawar has risen to 34 as officials said police had launched an investigation into the attack.

Rescue workers retrieved nine more dead bodies from the debris on Saturday, SP Chaudary Asharf told Daily Times, but put the death toll at 29.

According to Lady Reading Hospital’s records, 165 victims of the blast were taken to the hospital and 34 of them were dead, while 131 were injured. Around 90 people – with 10 in critical condition – are now being treated at the hospital, the remaining have been discharged.

Twenty-one bodies have so far been identified, while 13 bodies burnt beyond recognition are being kept at the hospital’s morgue.

Most of those who died or were injured were residents of Parachinar in Kurram Agency. The imambargah, Alamdar Karbala, is also known as ‘the imambargah of Parachinar’.

Mohammad Asif, a resident of the area, told Daily Times his 12-year-old daughter died in the blast, and his house had been completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, a senior police official told Daily Times it was not yet clear whether a timed-device was placed in the car or a suicide bomber carried out the attack.

He said that the police had collected severed parts of around 10 bodies, and it was therefore difficult to say with certainty what method had been employed by the attackers.

Police officials going through the debris found the engine of the car used in the attack, and said they were trying to locate the owner of the vehicle.

Teams from the Federal Investigation Agency’s Special Investigation Group visited the site on Saturday to collect evidence.

A bomb disposal squad official told Daily Times that the vehicle was carrying more than 80 kilogrammes of explosives.

Uri Avnery: "Not You! You!!!"

This is a useful read. I think we can also add Darfur and Burma to the former category (of Tibet). What's interesting though is that the criteria that Uri Avnery presents, about having a popular leader and "exotic" culture and "sexy" people, are not necessarily true for these two countries. But they still became a rallying cry in the US and international media. Care to guess why?!

The insights in this piece also throw light on the uneven Pakistani reaction to the humanitarian crises in Kashmir and Parachinar recently. At around the same time, both of these regions suffered economic blockade and escalation in violence. In the case of Kashmir, we cried out, hands off! (with active support from security and media apparatus of the state). But for Parachinar, it was such a suffocating silence that reminded one of Josh's "woh habs hai ke loo ki dua mangte hain log".

"Not You! You!!!" - Tibet and Palestine
By Uri Avnery, CounterPunch, April 7, 2008
Source

"Hey! Take your hands off me! Not you! You!!!"--the voice of a young woman in the darkened cinema, an old joke.

"Hey! Take your hands off Tibet!" the international chorus is crying out, "But not from Chechnya! Not from the Basque homeland! And certainly not from Palestine!" And that is not a joke.

* * *

LIKE EVERYBODY else, I support the right of the Tibetan people to independence, or at least autonomy. Like everybody else, I condemn the actions of the Chinese government there. But unlike everybody else, I am not ready to join in the demonstrations.

Why? Because I have an uneasy feeling that somebody is washing my brain, that what is going on is an exercise in hypocrisy.

I don't mind a bit of manipulation. After all, it is not by accident that the riots started in Tibet on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing. That's alright. A people fighting for their freedom have the right to use any opportunity that presents itself to further their struggle.

I support the Tibetans in spite of it being obvious that the Americans are exploiting the struggle for their own purposes. Clearly, the CIA has planned and organized the riots, and the American media are leading the world-wide campaign. It is a part of the hidden struggle between the US, the reigning super-power, and China, the rising super-power - a new version of the "Great Game" that was played in central Asia in the 19th century by the British Empire and Russia. Tibet is a token in this game.

I am even ready to ignore the fact that the gentle Tibetans have carried out a murderous pogrom against innocent Chinese, killing women and men and burning homes and shops. Such detestable excesses do happen during a liberation struggle.

No, what is really bugging me is the hypocrisy of the world media. They storm and thunder about Tibet. In thousands of editorials and talk-shows they heap curses and invective on the evil China. It seems as if the Tibetans are the only people on earth whose right to independence is being denied by brutal force, that if only Beijing would take its dirty hands off the saffron-robed monks, everything would be alright in this, the best of all possible worlds.

* * *

THERE IS no doubt that the Tibetan people are entitled to rule their own country, to nurture their unique culture, to promote their religious institutions and to prevent foreign settlers from submerging them.

But are not the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria entitled to the same? The inhabitants of Western Sahara, whose territory is occupied by Morocco? The Basques in Spain? The Corsicans off the coast of France? And the list is long.

Why do the world's media adopt one independence struggle, but often cynically ignore another independence struggle? What makes the blood of one Tibetan redder than the blood of a thousand Africans in East Congo?

Again and again I try to find a satisfactory answer to this enigma. In vain.

Immanuel Kant demanded of us: "Act as if the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal law of nature." (Being a German philosopher, he expressed it in much more convoluted language.) Does the attitude towards the Tibetan problem conform to this rule? Does it reflect our attitude towards the struggle for independence of all other oppressed peoples?

Not at all.

* * *

WHAT, THEN, causes the international media to discriminate between the various liberation struggles that are going on throughout the world?

Here are some of the relevant considerations:

- Do the people seeking independence have an especially exotic culture?

- Are they an attractive people, i.e. "sexy" in the view of the media?

- Is the struggle headed by a charismatic personality who is liked by the media?

- It the oppressing government disliked by the media?

- Does the oppressing government belong to the pro-American camp? This is an important factor, since the United States dominates a large part of the international media, and its news agencies and TV networks largely define the agenda and the terminology of the news coverage.

- Are economic interests involved in the conflict?

- Does the oppressed people have gifted spokespersons, who are able to attract attention and manipulate the media?

* * *

FROM THESE points of view, there is nobody like the Tibetans. They enjoy ideal conditions.

Fringed by the Himalayas, they are located in one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. For centuries, just to get there was an adventure. Their unique religion arouses curiosity and sympathy. Its non-violence is very attractive and elastic enough to cover even the ugliest atrocities, like the recent pogrom. The exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, is a romantic figure, a media rock-star. The Chinese regime is hated by many - by capitalists because it is a Communist dictatorship, by Communists because it has become capitalist. It promotes a crass and ugly materialism, the very opposite of the spiritual Buddhist monks, who spend their time in prayer and meditation.

When China builds a railway to the Tibetan capital over a thousand inhospitable kilometers, the West does not admire the engineering feat, but sees (quite rightly) an iron monster that brings hundreds of thousands of Han-Chinese settlers to the occupied territory.

And of course, China is a rising power, whose economic success threatens America's hegemony in the world. A large part of the ailing American economy already belongs directly or indirectly to China. The huge American Empire is sinking hopelessly into debt, and China may soon be the biggest lender. American manufacturing industry is moving to China, taking millions of jobs with it.

Compared to these factors, what have the Basques, for example, to offer? Like the Tibetans, they inhabit a contiguous territory, most of it in Spain, some of it in France. They, too, are an ancient people with their own language and culture. But these are not exotic and do not attract special notice. No prayer wheels. No robed monks.

The Basques do not have a romantic leader, like Nelson Mandela or the Dalai Lama. The Spanish state, which arose from the ruins of Franco's detested dictatorship, enjoys great popularity around the world. Spain belongs to the European Union, which is more or less in the American camp, sometimes more, sometimes less.

The armed struggle of the Basque underground is abhorred by many and is considered "terrorism", especially after Spain has accorded the Basques a far-reaching autonomy. In these circumstances, the Basques have no chance at all of gaining world support for independence.

The Chechnyans should have been in a better position. They, too, are a separate people, who have for a long time been oppressed by the Czars of the Russian Empire, including Stalin and Putin. But alas, they are Muslims - and in the Western world, Islamophobia now occupies the place that had for centuries been reserved for anti-Semitism. Islam has turned into a synonym for terrorism, it is seen as a religion of blood and murder. Soon it will be revealed that Muslims slaughter Christian children and use their blood for baking Pitta. (In reality it is, of course, the religion of dozens of vastly different peoples, from Indonesia to Morocco and from Kosova to Zanzibar.

The US does not fear Moscow as it fears Beijing. Unlike China, Russia does not look like a country that could dominate the 21st century. The West has no interest in renewing the Cold War, as it has in renewing the Crusades against Islam. The poor Chechnyans, who have no charismatic leader or outstanding spokespersons, have been banished from the headlines. For all the world cares, Putin can hit them as much as he wants, kill thousands and obliterate whole towns.

That does not prevent Putin from supporting the demands of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for separation from Georgia, a country which infuriates Russia.

* * *

IF IMMANUEL KANT knew what's going on in Kosova, he would be scratching his head.

The province demanded its independence from Serbia, and I, for one, supported that with all my heart. This is a separate people, with a different culture (Albanian) and its own religion (Islam). After the popular Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, tried to drive them out of their country, the world rose and provided moral and material support for their struggle for independence.

The Albanian Kosovars make up 90% of the citizens of the new state, which has a population of two million. The other 10% are Serbs, who want no part of the new Kosova. They want the areas they live in to be annexed to Serbia. According to Kant's maxim, are they entitled to this?

I would propose a pragmatic moral principle: Every population that inhabits a defined territory and has a clear national character is entitled to independence. A state that wants to keep such a population must see to it that they feel comfortable, that they receive their full rights, enjoy equality and have an autonomy that satisfies their aspirations. In short: that they have no reason to desire separation.

That applies to the French in Canada, the Scots in Britain, the Kurds in Turkey and elsewhere, the various ethnic groups in Africa, the indigenous peoples in Latin America, the Tamils in Sri Lanka and many others. Each has a right to choose between full equality, autonomy and independence.

* * *

THIS LEADS us, of course, to the Palestinian issue.

In the competition for the sympathy of the world media, the Palestinians are unlucky. According to all the objective standards, they have a right to full independence, exactly like the Tibetans. They inhabit a defined territory, they are a specific nation, a clear border exists between them and Israel. One must really have a crooked mind to deny these facts.

But the Palestinians are suffering from several cruel strokes of fate: The people that oppress them claim for themselves the crown of ultimate victimhood. The whole world sympathizes with the Israelis because the Jews were the victims of the most horrific crime of the Western world. That creates a strange situation: the oppressor is more popular than the victim. Anyone who supports the Palestinians is automatically suspected of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Also, the great majority of the Palestinians are Muslims (nobody pays attention to the Palestinian Christians). Since Islam arouses fear and abhorrence in the West, the Palestinian struggle has automatically become a part of that shapeless, sinister threat, "international terrorism". And since the murders of Yasser Arafat and Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the Palestinians have no particularly impressive leader - neither in Fatah nor in Hamas.

The world media are shedding tears for the Tibetan people, whose land is taken from them by Chinese settlers. Who cares about the Palestinians, whose land is taken from them by our settlers?

In the world-wide tumult about Tibet, the Israeli spokespersons compare themselves - strange as it sounds - to the poor Tibetans, not to the evil Chinese. Many think this quite logical.

If Kant were dug up tomorrow and asked about the Palestinians, he would probably answer: "Give them what you think should be given to everybody, and don't wake me up again to ask silly questions."

Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is a contributor to CounterPunch's book

Agreement kindles hope of peace in Kurram

One certainly hopes for this agreement to last long(er). But one should also not neglect that the conflict in Kurram is larger than a mere confrontation between local tribes. There are external forces involved. That includes Taliban, who are still present in the agency and clashing with the locals (even after an initial agreement between tribes on Sep 27, 2008 to cease fire), and who are supported by extremist militant groups from other provinces, as well as rogue elements within the security apparatus of the state. Kurram is part of a larger game being played in Fata and across the Afghan border. The future of peace in Kurram is directly linked to the political outcomes in these regions. In Kurram, the government and the tribal elders are the key players who can make the peace agreement work. The opening and safety of the main Tal-Parachinar route is the most immediate challenge.

On a related note, one should also look into the conditions that made the current peace agreement possible. Why the forces that were earlier not willing to concede and open up the Tal-Parachinar road are now willing to concede? What changed?

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Agreement kindles hope of peace in Kurram
By Bakhtawar Mian, Dawn, October 17, 2008
Source

ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: A grand jirga of Kurram Agency has brokered a peace deal between warring sectarian groups in the region.

Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to exchange kidnapped people and reopen all roads in the area.

The agreement was signed after weeks of efforts made by the peace jirga comprising 50 representatives of each side.

Elders and Maliks of the two sects took part in the dialogue. Kurram Agency’s Political Agent Azam Khan represented the government and played the key role of mediator.

The talks were held in Islamabad and Murree and details of the agreement were announced at a press conference on Thursday.

The accord is expected to end the violence between Sunni Bangash and Shia Turi tribesmen that has plagued the agency bordering Afghanistan for one and a half years.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the clashes and the road to Parachinar has remained closed for several months, cutting off supplies to the agency’s main town.

People coming to Peshawar have been forced to travel via the Paktia province of Afghanistan.

The political agent said he was confident the accord would herald an era of peace in the agency because both the groups had agreed to cooperate with the administration for the purpose.

The agreement says that roads would be reopened to ensure supply of foodstuff, medicines and other essential items.

They also agreed to exchange bodies of people killed and tribesmen of the two sides kidnapped and captured and to allow the displaced people to return to their villages.

Both the groups have promised to provide protection to travellers. Bunkers would be vacated and handed over to the Frontier Corps.

A fine of Rs60 million will be imposed for any violation of the agreement. Any violation will be treated as a move against peace and violators will be dealt with accordingly.

The grand jirga will go to Kurram Agency on November 2 to ensure implementation of the agreement by both sides.

Another jirga will be held next month to resolve other contentious issues.

The tribal elders promised to cooperate with the government in maintaining peace.

They said the agency did not have the required strength of FC and the government would be asked to deploy more law-enforcement personnel.

The political agent proposed that the government should allocated funds as a peace dividend for development of the agency and to serve as an incentive for other agencies to strive for peace.

Kurram Tribes Agree to Ceasefire

The tribes have agreed to cease fire along with a number of other provisions. A comprehensive peace accord addressing the remaining issues is planned for the Oct 6 meeting. See my comments on the peace talks here.

Warring Kurram tribes agree to ceasefire
By Inamullah Khattak, Dawn, September 28, 2008
Source

RAWALPINDI: A peace Jirga of tribal elders, representing the warring groups of Kurram Agency, agreed on Saturday to stop fighting till December 31.

The tribal leaders vowed to cooperate with the government in the restoration of peace in the sectarian-violence hit troubled region.

The elders of the tribesmen that met for the fourth consecutive day here also decided to meet again on October 6 for a ‘grand jirga’ to help resolve unsettled matters.

The 100-member Jirga comprising 50 members each from the 12 tribes of both Shia and Sunni sects also included parliamentarians from both groups, including elected representatives of the Kurram Agency, MNAs Munir Khan Orakzai, Sajid Hussian Turi, Senator Eng. Rasheed Khan, former Senator Sajjad Syed and other notables of the Kurram Agency.

The jirga was held under the supervision of Political Agent Kurram Mohammad Azam Khan and Assistant Political Agent Lower Kurram Ayyaz Khan Mandokhel

The four-point ‘peace agreement’ says

“(1) Ceasefire in Kurram Agency would continue till December 31, 2008 and if incident of fire happened in any area, the tribes of the concerned region would themselves hand over the involved persons to the local administration under the responsibility of territorial jurisdiction. The concerned tribe would fully cooperate with the government and the administration would take stern action against the violators of the peace agreement.

2. A grand jirga to be nominated later for which the jirga members authorised the Political Agent, would be called on October 06, 2008 to resolve the controversial issues between Shia and Sunni tribes in presence of the political agent.

3. Both Shia and Sunni tribes would exchange the dead bodies or those kidnapped during the period of conflict.

4. Both the tribes would try to supply edibles, medicines and other things of daily necessities to the concerned affected areas to resolve problems being faced by the local people particularly women and children."

To a question, the political agent said: “I will suggest the government to conduct an intelligent operation in order to stop foreign intervention in Kurram Agency and expel the foreign elements”.

He said the Jirga had agreed to stop foreign intervention in the region.

Violence erupted in Kurram Agnecy on April 6 last year, killing over 2,000 people and leaving hundreds of people displaced.

Kurram Agency tribesmen welcome peace accord
DailyTimes, September 28, 2008
Source

* Acute shortage of medicines, food, diesel and petrol in agency

PESHAWAR: Kurram Agency tribesmen on Saturday welcomed peace agreement between Jirga members of Turi and Mengal tribes, who agreed on a ceasefire in the agency.

The peace negotiators met in Islamabad recently and agreed to hold ceasefire between the warring Turi and Mengal tribes.

The Jirga members agreed to end violence in Kurram Agency and vowed to fight the hidden hands erupting clashes in the area, a Jirga member said, adding that both tribes agreed to continue with the process of negotiations until complete peace was restored in the agency.

The residents of Kurram Agency, currently residing in Peshawar, have expressed satisfaction over the Jirga’s decision and termed it an important development towards restoration of peace in the agency. They hoped that now peace would soon be returned to the agency.

Haji Yousaf said the local people of the agency were fed up with the ongoing militancy in the agency. “The tribesmen of the agency are facing extreme problems due to closure of the main Thall-Parachinar Road,” he added.

Raza Khan said it was a good development in the right direction, which would bring peace to the area. He urged the government to pay attention towards maintaining durable peace in the area. “I would now have chance to go to my village after one year,” he said.

Ali Mehdi, another resident of the agency, said restoration of peace was must for development of the agency, which had suffered a lot in the ongoing unrest for about one year.

Shortage of medicines: Mehboob Ali Paracha said there were acute shortage of medicines, essential goods, diesel and petrol in the area. He hoped that with the restoration of peace these items would be supplied to the agency.

An official of the political administration said it was a good sign that rival Turi and Mengal tribes had agreed to restore peace in the restive agency.

Violence in Parachinar had erupted in November last year and so far hundreds of people had been killed and thousands displaced from the agency.

The entire Kurram Agency is without electricity for the last two months resulting in acute shortage of drinking water in the agency.

Iqbal Hussain Turi, a Jirga member, said that both groups agreed that there was no Sunni-Shia tension in Kurram Agency but a third hand was involved in disturbing peace of the agency. “We will foil all conspiracies against our tribal people,” he added.

The 100-member peace Jirga comprised 50 members each from the Turi and Mengal tribes, Kurram Agency’s Political Agent Azam Khan and Lower Kurram Assistant Political Agent Ayaz Khan Mandokhel. app

Kurram Tribes Come Together for a Peace Talk

Light at the end of the tunnel? I hope it is. (See the news report below.)

The government of course has a huge role in making the peace process work, in how its security forces fulfill their duties against the criminal elements, especially against those coming from outside of the Kurram agency. The opening and safety of the main Tal-Parachinar route would be the litmus test of its performance.

The role of the tribal elders is another important factor. Unfortunately, in the past, those among the tribal elders who could have ensured peace in the area were systematically targeted by the criminal elements. At least 300 tribal elders have been killed in different areas of the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (FATA) in these years. The elimination of this layer of leadership is one of the key reasons why there are insurgent militias ruling over FATA these days.

Some of these militias are Taliban-inspired, others are not and may in some cases be against the Taliban. Often they are locally based. But sometimes they also have foreign connections and membership too. In some cases, the local people have supported these insurgent militias against the tyranny of local leaders, state officials, and 'maliks', or against their rival tribes. More recently the American and Pakistani military incursions and the resulting loss of lives, property, and honor have also expanded the membership and support of these militias.

Some strands of these insurgent militias also had support of the state's security apparatus in the past, particularly during the Afghan War era. Some claim that they still do.

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Kurram tribes ready to burry the hatchet
By Inamullah Khattak
Source

RAWALPINDI, Sept 25: A tribal peace jirga which met in the capital on Thursday agreed to end sectarian violence in the restive Kurram Agency and vowed to fight the ‘hidden hands’ fuelling violence in the region. [Daily Times reports that the jirga was held in Peshawar (?)]

The 100-member peace jirga comprised 50 members each from the Turi and Mengal tribes, including parliamentarians belonging to both groups—MNAs Munir Khan Orakzai and Sujid Hussian Turi and Senator Rasheed Khan—former Senator Sajjad Syed and Kurram’s Political Agent Azam Khan and Lower Kurram Assistant Political Agent Ayyaz Khan Mandokhel.

The jirga agreed to continue the process of negotiations till peace was restored in the agency.

Violence in Parachinar erupted on April 6 last year and so far over 2,000 people have been killed and hundreds of people have been displaced.

“Today both the groups agreed that there was no Sunni-Shia tension in Kurram Agency, rather a third hand is involved in pitting the two tribes against each other. But we will foil all conspiracies against our tribal people,” Malik Sardar Ahmed Bangash, a jirga member told Dawn.

He said that both the groups resolved to assist the government in eliminating terrorist elements from the agency.

The Hindu: Parachinar Conflict and the Taliban

Below is a useful overview of the recent spell of violence in the Kurram Agency, Pakistan. The incident mentioned in this piece where anti Imam Hussain slogans were chanted, however, needs further probing. Many analysts name that incident to be the cause of the ongoing clashes. I have seen the footage myself (it's available online). What needs to be understood here is that the grandson of the Holy Prophet, Imam Hussain, is not only revered by the Shias, but also by the Sunnis, and even by some Hindus and followers of other faiths (for example, the Hussaini Brahmin) in South Asia. People familiar with Pakistani religious history and traditions know how Imam Hussain's martyrdom is commemorated widely by devotees from various sectarian backgrounds every year in Muharram. It is unimaginable to think that Sunnis could malign Imam Hussain. To call it a "sectarian" violence implies that the dispute was fueled by doctrinal differences. That certainly is not the case here.

The question then is who were those people chanting the slogans? Why did they want to incite religious hatred and violence? Why at this point in time? What is going on in other agencies of FATA? Who are the 'external elements', who are they supported by, and what is their agenda in the Kurram agency? And, why have the State's security apparatus been so ineffective against these criminal elements? The below piece does provide some useful pointers to the discerning readers.
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In Pakistan, a Shia-Sunni war to oust Taliban
Nirupama Subramanian, The Hindu, Sep 03, 2008
Source

Kurram is not the average tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Pashto-speaking population has higher literacy rates than in the other six agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Area. Even a Pakistan government internet site on Kurram expresses surprise that “a significant” number of people from the region are employed abroad. But perhaps the most important difference is that Kurram is the only tribal region in FATA with a significant Shia population.

The almost equal numbers of Shia and Sunni — each sect claims it is the majority — in a region with an estimated population of over 500,000 never made for an entirely peaceful place. But since April 2007, Kurram has been the scene of one carnage after another. Hundreds have been killed in sectarian fighting in the last 17 months, and all attempts to broker ceasefires have failed. The reason, according to Shia community leaders and independent analysts, is that Taliban militants now control the Sunni tribes and want to battle the Shia until they have control of the entire agency for additional access routes into Afghanistan.

Last weekend, Kurram exploded once again. The Shia Turi tribe called a unilateral ceasefire five days earlier, but the Sunni Bangash kept attacking Turi targets. On Sunday, the Turi retaliated with a powerful attack in the predominantly Sunni Lower Kurram, on the Bangash stronghold of Bagzai. The ensuing battle left over 100 dead in two days. Over 400 have been killed in the region since the beginning of August, and according to unofficial estimates, the number of dead since April 2007 is over 1,500.

After the fighting, six Sunni tribes called a unilateral ceasefire, but the Shias say they do not trust the announcement. “There have been so many ceasefire announcements. Making peace is not in the hands of the Sunni tribes anymore. They have come under the thumb of the Taliban, and they have to do what the Taliban ask them to do,” Ali Akbar, secretary-general of the Anjuman Hussainia, a Shia community group in the predominantly Shia Parachinar, the main town in Kurram, told The Hindu. According to him, the Taliban wanted to convert Kurram into “another Waziristan or Bajaur,” but the Turi would not let them. “We were forced to take action in Bagzai, and we have cleaned up the place,” he said. But, he said, the Taliban had several other strongholds in Lower Kurram.

Allama Jawwad Hadi, another Shia leader in Parachinar, said the Shia tribes would not accept any truce call by the Sunni tribes unless it was accompanied by guarantees that they will not give room to the Taliban. “[The Sunni tribesmen] have to pledge that they will not allow the Taliban into their villages, that they will not give any more opportunities for the Taliban to make their own strongholds here, or to launch attacks on the Turi. Only then there can be peace in Kurram,” he said. According to him, the Turis were the only force that was preventing the Taliban from taking over Kurram, which they wanted “to use for their activities.”

“Kurram shares borders with Afghanistan on three sides. This is why the Taliban want control of this agency. From here, there are so many routes they can use. The Sunnis must accept the leadership of the Turi because only they can stop the Taliban,” he said.

The present troubles in Kurram date back to April 2007, when according to a Parachinar journalist who did not want to be named, the Sunnis took out a rally in the main town at which, for the first time, they raised slogans against Hussein, the Shia martyr. Three days later, when the Shias took out a rally in protest, gunmen fired at them; 80 people died.

A suicide attack in August punctured an uneasy truce but the fragile peace held until November, when fighting broke out once again in Parachinar, a Shia-majority town. A week of clashes left some 100 people dead, with the Shias simultaneously “cleansing” the town of Sunnis. The government’s token efforts could not stop the fighting. Since then, Parachinar has been cut off from the rest of Pakistan. Sunni tribes have blockaded the road link from the town to the NWFP capital, Peshawar.

“Now to go to Peshawar, we must first cross into Afghanistan, and then cross back into Pakistan. The journey by car costs Rs.7,000 and takes two days. When the road was open, an express bus could take us in two hours,” the Parachinar journalist said. Military aircraft have ferried some stranded civilians to and from the town but the service is erratic.

Since the first week of August, the town has gone without electricity. Diesel, smuggled in from Afghanistan, costs Rs.100 a litre and medicines are in short supply. Traders bringing in medicines and food supplies from Afghanistan are charging sky-high prices. A 100-kg bag of atta costs Rs.5,500 — more than double the price in the rest of the country.

In June, militants attacked a convoy of trucks that was transporting food and medicines to Parachinar near Pir Qayyum in Lower Kurram. They burnt several of the trucks and killed 12 truck drivers. Independent analysts say the Taliban started moving into Kurram when the Pakistan security forces began military operations in other tribal agencies and in parts of the NWFP such as Darra Adam Khel and Hangu.

“The Kurram issue is basically sectarian, and the Taliban have weighed in on the side of the Sunnis. They are trying to gain control of a small triangle of land [in Kurram] because it gives them an alternate route into Afghanistan,” said Brigadier (retd.) Mahmood Shah, who used to be Secretary FATA, the senior-most government official administering the tribal areas. Brig. Shah said the Taliban were thwarting all attempts at brokering peace between the two communities. Those familiar with the area also spoke of the presence in Kurram of a large number of “external elements” — cadres from banned Punjabi-dominated outfits such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, who had joined hands with the Tehreek-e-Taliban.

There have also been allegations that Iran and Afghanistan are assisting the Shias with money, manpower and weapons. A group called the Reforms Committee of Parachinar told journalists in Peshawar recently that the two countries had supplied two Shia militant groups with large quantities of medicines, mortar launchers and other weapons. Brig. Shah said the area involved was so small, and the government’s priorities in the region were so many that thus far, it was being treated as a “local issue,” even though the political agent, the official in-charge of the agency, had been knocking at the doors of the federal government for help. The government deployed the Frontier Corps in the region two weeks ago, but that had no effect on the fighting.

“If the government can apportion some force — a brigade would do — it can bring the area under control,” he said adding that presently, security forces had only a “token presence” in Kurram. But he also stressed the need for an overall policy to tackle militancy in the entire region, and following up on that, an area-specific policy. “There is a need to put pressure on all sides, and then take up operations on priority,” he said. Otherwise, the former official said, when the security forces hit in one place, the militants would simply set up camp in another, as in Kurram.

AAJ TV's Talat Hussain Reports on FATA Areas, in Urdu

AAJ TV's Talat Hussain visits and reports on the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan, in Urdu.

Khyber, Sep 01, 2008

Mohmand and Bajaur, Sep 02, 2008

North and South Waziristan, Sep 03, 2008

Orakzai and Kurram, Sep 04, 2008

Earlier in July 2008, Talat Hussain covered the Parachinar crisis, in Urdu:

July 03, 2008, Talat Hussain on the Kurram Agency, Part I
(The voice and picture quality deteriorates in the middle of the video. Fortunately, this video is also available here)

July 04, 2008, Talat Hussain on the Kurram Agency, Part II

Update on the Kurram Agency

Below, I copy two news items, one in Urdu with my translation and the other in English, both from Pakistan's renowned Jang Group online (Jang Akhbaar and The News). Quite interesting to contrast the emphasis and word choices made in the two.

But before that, a quick update on the situation in the Kurram Agency: At least 700 people have been killed and more than a thousand have been wounded in the last 35 days of violence. The Turi tribes claim to have killed several important commanders of the Taliban militants and torched their houses in Bagzai, an area comprising about 200 villages which had become a Taliban stronghold. The Turi forces managed to capture it on August 31, 2008. They also claim to have discovered huge quantity of ammunition, explosives, suicide attack jackets, and incriminating documents in the captured area. As in any situation of prolonged violence and war, the groups most devastated in the ongoing clashes are women, children, and the elderly. Hundreds of families have been displaced from both upper and lower Kurram areas in the last 15 months. (See Dawn, Sep 10, Daily Times, Sep 03, 2008, Daily Times, Sep 01, 2008, Dawn, Sep 01, 2008, Dawn, Aug 18, 2008).

The news stories that I cite above provide a bit nuanced account of the situation, identifying the various sides and their complex interactions. But, generally, the coverage of the ongoing violence in the Kurram Agency has been of mixed quality. I am especially disappointed with their use of labels like "sectarian" and "tribal" in quite simplistic terms. These labels seem to carry both the question (of "what") and the answer (of "why") of the clashes in their very definition in many news stories. The above stories, however, hint that the reality is quite complicated. I have already shared my understanding of the situation previously (see here). The mixed quality reporting makes it especially difficult to ascertain the source of the conflict.

A second point: While talking to a few people recently I felt that some want a sort of 'moral clarity' in this conflict where one side there should be a blatant oppressor and the other a helpless oppressed. The moment the oppressed starts to fight back, the morality picture gets blurred. Now they don't want to make the judgment of right and wrong or do anything to help the oppressed anymore.

I wonder if these two may be the reason why we haven't seen an enthusiastic response from certain segments of the people of conscience(?)

Anyway, here are the two news items, from today:

Source

My quick translation:

Kurram Agency: Attacks continue despite the ceasefire, Eight including militants killed

PARACHINAR (Jang News): Clashes continue on for the 35th day in succession in various parts of the Kurram Agency. Seven militants and a civilian were killed in fresh clashes. Militant attacks also killed a woman from a local tribe, carrying water to her home, while injuring seven others, including a child. A ceasefire was announced by the rival tribes, but militants from external areas continue on with their attacks, in Inzari, Bagzai, Sadda, Khaarkile, Balishkhel, Sangina, Parachamkani, Pewar, Tangi, Tarimangal, Maqbal, and Kanj Alizai. In these clashes between the militants and the local tribal forces, in the Bagzai area near the Pak-Afghan border, seven militants were killed. In Balishkhel, militant firing killed a local tribal woman who was carrying water to her home. Seven others, including a boy, were also injured. In the Upper Kurram areas, including Parachinar, electricity has not been restored for more than 20 days now, making it especially difficult during the holy month of Ramadhan. Due to shortage of electricity and petrol and diesel, phone lines and mobile networks have broken down. Banks have run out of cash; government servants have not received their payments for the month of August even after ten days [of September] have passed. The government servants are in difficult situation.
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From The News

Eight killed in Kurram clashes

By our correspondent

PARACHINAR: Eight people, including a woman, were killed and seven others injured as clashes between Turi and Bangash tribesmen continued in various parts of the restive Kurram Agency on Wednesday. Sources said despite the ceasefire announcement by the warring sectarian groups, attacks and counter-attacks are the order of the day and both the rival factions are continuously targeting each other's positions with heavy weapons. The sources added that fierce fighting was going on in Chardiwali, Jalamay, Balishkhel, Tangi, Arawali, Kunj Alizai, Pewar and Karman, leaving eight people dead and seven others injured. A woman and a child were among the dead and the injured respectively.

Source: The News, September 11, 2008. Accessed on September 11, 2008.

Review: Descent into Chaos by Ahmed Rashid

A few reviews of the latest book by Ahmed Rashid, Descent into Chaos (2008). Below I copy some insightful passages.

Khaled Ahmed, Daily Times, Aug 31, 2008

"Meanwhile, Musharraf had taken over in Pakistan with the help of his three corps commanders, Mehmood, Aziz and Usmani. After 9/11, Musharraf convinced the three Islamists that Pakistan had to align with America or go under to India. A reference to India is enough to make the Pakistani military mind dysfunctional. The plan was to ‘only partially accept the US demands’ to be able to oust India from the arena (p.29).

The ‘partial acceptance’ in the above reference was to protect the policy on the Taliban against resolutions by the UN. Corps commander Peshawar General Imtiaz Shaheen was removed by Musharraf when he demanded change in the Taliban policy. All proposals of change of policy were blocked by generals Mehmood and Aziz. The ISI had funded the JUI of Fazlur Rehman to hold its grand International Deobandi Conference near Peshawar in April 2001 during which a message from Osama bin Laden was also allowed to be read out. The ISI got Lashkar-e Tayba to hold another conference in Lahore, send the UN the message that Pakistan would not kowtow to its resolutions (p.53). UN envoy Brahimi was mentioned as working for the Indians in the planted stories in the Pakistani press.

After 9/11, US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld put in practice the neo-con plan to conquer Al Qaeda without putting troops on the ground and without ‘nation-building’ (reconstruction) (p.173). The plan was to buy off the warlords, isolate Al Qaeda and get Osama bin Laden through paid agents. Warlords Fahim, Rasul Sayyaf and Rashid Dostam got around $14 million and Fahim got $5 million directly from General Tommy Franks, the CENTCOM commander who later botched the Tora Bora operation and let Osama bin Laden escape with the help of Pakistani Pashtuns — who received $1200 per person for 800 Arabs — simply because the American troops were thin on the ground. When NATO wanted to send troops, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz said no thanks (p.65 and 98). Thus Bin Laden landed up in Parachinar, the Shia-majority headquarters of Kurram Agency, and laid the foundation of what is today known as the big sectarian slaughter (p.155).

Ahmed Rashid is fair when he says Musharraf didn’t let go of his policy of backing the Taliban and through them domination of Afghanistan because he thought Americans would cut and run soon enough, leaving Pakistan holding the bag. Rumsfeld was proving him right all the time (p.335). This was the situation when the US got Pakistan to send a delegation to Mullah Umar in Kandahar to warn him to surrender Osama bin Laden or be prepared to face invasion. The ISI delegation led by General Mehmood and containing Mufti Shamzai instead told Mullah Umar to hold fast and face off the invasion. The CIA got to know that General Mehmood was playing a double game. The ISI told Musharraf that US would not commit ground troops and that the Taliban would carry on from the mountains even if ousted from the cities. This convinced Musharraf to double-deal with the US (p.77).

When the invasion came, Musharraf did not abide by his promise to withdraw the elements of his army from Afghanistan. Dozens of FC men stayed on the side of Taliban helping them prepare defences and sending intelligence back to the ISI whose excuse for the double-cross was fear of India coming in riding the Northern Alliance."

Raymond Bonner, NY Times, Aug 10, 2008

"The current political situation is unstable. The Bush administration considered Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, indispensable, and so did not push for democratic reforms, Rashid observes. But given the record of civilian governments in Pakistan, might this have been a reasonable conclusion? For most of the decade before Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were the prime ministers. Their governments were marked by enormous corruption (Bhutto’s more so than Sharif’s) and ineffectiveness. Today, the most powerful civilian leaders in the country are Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and Sharif, whom Rashid describes as “right-wing, anti-American and close to the Islamic parties.”

Clearly, we need to have a debate about America’s strategic interests in the region. We want to keep Afghanistan and Pakistan from becoming havens for terrorist groups, and that may require limited military assistance. But as Rashid suggests, the next administration will have to make a major diplomatic effort as well."

Kim Sengupta, The Independent, July 11, 2008

"Pakistan's policy in Afghanistan is tied in with its great rivalry with India. The military sees Afghanistan as offering a hinterland, "strategic depth", and also training facilities for a future conflict. India also cannot escape blame. The world's second most populous country, desperate to be seen as a great power, still sees foreign policy through the prism of the feud with its neighbour. India's huge aid programme in Afghanistan, Rashid points out, adds to Pakistan's paranoia.

Not just Afghanistan, but Pakistan, has been damaged in the process. Rashid reminds us just how much the West, America in particular, was culpable in creating this incendiary scenario, with their unstinting support for generals who deposed elected governments, impirsoned politicians and nurtured fundamentalist Islamist parties. Billions of dollars were sent from Washington to the military as supporters in the Cold War, and significant funds to Muslim fundamentalists.

General Musharraf, Rashid points out, was just the latest military strongman successfully to manipulate Washington. He received huge funds and weaponry while being portrayed, by both himself and the US, as a staunch ally in the "war on terror". It was only belatedly that US officials began to complain that the Pakistanis were not only doing little to pursue al-Qa'ida and the Taliban, but senior officials were complicit in harbouring them.

Elections have now taken place while the assassination of Benazir Bhutto shows just how fragile the situation remains. Rashid believes that the emergence of civil society in Pakistan and a dissipation in the influence of the military may help to heal the violent fractures in the region. But events since this book was written do not support such optimism. As the New York Times pointed out last week, four months after the election Pakistan remains in leaderless drift while the military and ISI carry out their private deals with the Islamists."

Islamabad: Children stage protest for peace in Parachinar

Govt asked to restore peace in Parachinar
Dawn News

Source

RAWALPINDI, Aug 28: Children belonging to the restive Kurram Agency and now living in the federal capital staged a protest demonstration outside the Parliament House on Thursday, calling upon rulers to restore normalcy in Parachinar and play their role in stopping the ongoing bloodshed.

The children, majority of them in the age group of four, were wearing shrouds inscribed with slogans like ‘Uncle Zardari take notice of our plight’ and ‘Uncle Gilani treat us like you treat your own children’. They urged the government to open the roads that had been blocked by militants.

The otherwise peaceful and scenic Kurram Agency has been gripped by violence since November last year after some militants took their positions on Tal-Parachinar Road and started shooting passengers belonging to the opposite sect.

Since then, the road has been closed to all kinds of transport, which has resulted in serious shortage of essential items and life-saving drugs in the hospitals.

So far hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between rival tribes. Despite repeated calls for peace, there is no let up in the violence. The people from the area say that some hidden hands are involved in the unrest.

“We have not gone homes for our summer vacations. Why little children are not safe in Parachinar. Our religion teaches us that women and children should not be killed during war. But we are being slaughtered without discrimination,” the children were heard expressing their ordeals in front of the Parliament House. Senators Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Kulsoom Parveen, Gulshan Saeed and Abbas Kumeli sympathised with the protesting children.

The protest of the little children is in fact a stark reminder to the authorities about the prevailing sense of insecurity in the country and many other issues that have engulfed the country particularly the tribal areas.

Ali Abbas, five, was one of the unfortunate children in the protest who had lost three older brothers in the ongoing clashes. His parents had to flee the area and hire a home in Islamabad to save the lives of their other sons.

“I would not be able to travel to Parachinar until the violence is over. They (militants) kill children equally. They are bad people. I am scared,” he told this reporter when he was asked why he was participating in the protest.

Haider Abbas, a parent, said his sister lost her life in the hospital mainly because there were no life-saving drugs due to the blockade of the main Tal-Parachinar Road by the militants.

“Both Shia and Sunni want peace in Parachinar but I wonder as to who is fuelling the fire when both the warring tribes are desperate for peace. I am sure that foreigners are involved in the tension,” he asserted.

The children urged the government to take mercy on the plight of the people of Parachinar and immediately open the roads blocked by militants to ensure availability of essential items during Ramazan.

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Coffin-clad children from Kurram stage sit-in

What is really happening in the Kurram Agency, Pakistan?

Around 400 people have been killed in the Kurram Agency in the last two weeks. Thousand others have been badly wounded in what appears to be a tribal conflict between two groups. At least, this is how it appears to the general audience watching the media coverage in Pakistan. The ground reality, however, is much more complicated.

One, this is not a conflict between two symmetrical powers. For over 15 months now, the Taliban militants from within Pakistan and across the Afghan border have actively supported the criminal elements belonging to a few tribes in the Kurram agency against the residents of Parachinar and its surrounding. The Tal-Parachinar road that connects this remote area to the rest of Pakistan has been effectively blocked by these criminal elements for more than 10 months. A group that tried to travel through this road was literally slaughtered on 19 June, 2008. The people of Parachinar and its surrounding, mostly from the Turi tribal and Shia Muslim background, have continuously pleaded to the government and the army to come to their support, but to no avail so far. The residents are forced to cross the border into Afghanistan to get their basic supplies of food and medicine, and to get to Peshawar. According to news reports, at least fourteen innocent children have died due to shortage of medicine. For several months now, the criminal elements have subjected these people to a protracted, low-intensity ethnic cleansing. It was only under these adverse conditions that the Turi/Shia tribesmen decided to respond forcefully. But their capacities are nothing compared to the organized terror machinery of their opponents.

Two, this is not a tribal or sectarian conflict per se. Rather it is a conflict instigated by the Taliban militants and supported by local criminal elements. (The Taliban militants who fled from other agencies of FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) are also re-grouping in the Kurram agency.) The tribal and sectarian differences are being used for fueling the conflict. But the real reason is that the Taliban want an easy access from Kurram agency to various provinces in Afghanistan. Parachinar is the best route for that purpose. (The NY Times did a story on this issue on July 26, 2008. See here) However, the Parachinar people would not to allow that, not only because they do not want to support these criminals but also because they would become a target of NATO bombardment (like the case in other areas of FATA).

The furious Taliban militants and their local supporters are therefore subjecting the non-cooperating tribes in Kurram agency to this protracted torment, with the goal of either making them surrender to their demands or forcing them out of their ancestral lands. As one can see, the underlying logic of this conflict is power and dominance. What needs to be emphasized here is that the common people as well as many leaders of the local tribes from all sides do not want to fight. Many believe that this conflict has been imposed on them by 'external hands'. The common people just want peace and security.

Three, it is very unfortunate that the rogue elements within the intelligence agencies are also involved in these crimes. Their continued connection with the Taliban is widely known (see, for example, here). Without their support, it is hard to imagine that these fringed militants would have spread far and wide, not only across the FATA region but also to Peshawar and D.I. Khan, even Karachi, (and, of course, the Afghan areas), when they are actively hunted by the Pakistan Army, FC, and NATO forces. Any serious efforts to rescue the Kurram agency from these militants would require that the state also control the hidden hands behind these criminals.

Among the immediate things that the government should do: End the humanitarian crisis in Parachinar by freeing the Tal-Parachinar road from the militants and ensuring the safety of the passengers. Put a halt on Taliban movement from other agencies to this area. Reinstate the Kurram militia, comprising of local residents from different tribes and sectarian backgrounds, which used to safeguard this region before. Set up an independent commission to investigate the complicity of the state officials and intelligence agencies and estimate the level of damage and destruction. Pay due compensation to the aggrieved families and help them re-settle in their hometowns.