Pakistan – Shifting sands?

Are things all that good in Yummrika? How bad are things in Pakistan? Some data.

Mebbe the Pakistani army is becoming less relevant? Is it possible. (Cartoon by Beeler / The Washington Examiner / Cagle Cartoons.). Click for larger image.

ecent events in Pakistan confirm that the game in our neighbourhood has changed.

Wassup

For one, Big Oil has got into the game.

An imploding Pakistan, with gun-toting jehadi terrorists are convenient caricatures that hide a deep shift. As recent events in Abbottabad show. Even as we ignore Nawaz Sharif’s impotent talk of peace between India-Pakistan.

Who cares …

On 4th January, 2011, Salman Taseer died. Shot dead by his own body guard. His support for non-Islamic minorities in Pakistan coupled with his support for removal of blasphemy laws from statute books angered extremists. Leading to this killing. Salmaan Taseer’s other bodyguards did nothing against the killer.

Many ‘powerful people’ of Pakistan, afraid of the mullah–madrasa–mujahhid combine, did not attend Taseer’s funeral.

Has Osama’s death changed anything? Is ISI still in charge of these gun-toting terroristas? I doubt … (Cartoon by Gorrell Art / Creators Syndicate Inc.; cartoon courtesy timeinc.net). Click for larger image.

Another hate crime

Exactly 4 days later, in USA, on the other side of the world, on Saturday 8th January, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, was shot. At a Safeway grocery store, on the north side of Tucson, Arizona, during a public event.

More than 4 months since, Giffords remains hospitalized.

Desert Bloc parallels

Gabrielle Gifford and Salman Taseer were ‘marked’ for supporting ‘Others’. Christian intolerance, Islamic extremism.

Any difference?

Sympathy for ‘kaffirs‘ killed Salman Taseer. What hurt Gabrielle Giffords, was her support for a complicated healthcare bill and a ‘nuanced approach’ to immigration – seemingly to support ‘aliens’.

All that seems to separate Pakistan and US of A, is a very thick wad of notes.

Shoot-to-kill

Gabrielle Giffords a Democrat was put in the cross-hairs of a gun, by leaders like Sarah Palin – a US presidential hopeful. The job of pulling the trigger was left to some ‘radical’.

Just like in Pakistan. Where thousands of guns were handed over. Without due diligence. Targets were pointed out. Targets like Salman Taseer, Benazir Bhutto, Daniel Pearl.

And India.

There are new dots. The connections between these new dots have changed. Old habits die hard. (Cartoon by Chappatte / Int’l Herald Tribune / Cagle Cartoons.). Click for a larger image.

How deep is your love …

Usual news apart, read this.

LAHORE: The Punjab government has formed a committee which will present a report on the airing of cartoons depicting Hindu mythology and if they can be banned in Pakistan.

Even though Indian TV channels are currently off-air in Pakistan, several cable operators are broadcasting Indian content to meet the demands of their clientele.

A meeting of the committee was held in Lahore, which discussed ways to get these cartoons banned in Pakistan. (via Punjab govt goes after Hindu mythology cartoons – The Express Tribune).

I am reminded about an interview with Govindacharya (ex-BJP), in the same context, who claimed that well-springs of culture run deeper than commonly believed. I am beginning to wonder …

Was Govindacharya right, after all!

The taking of Pakistan

The game has changed.

Surely. Now oil is a part of the Pakistani jigsaw. Oil prices, the oil-dollar tango, Big oil hide behind the mullah-madrasa-mujahhid troika..

To understand this, we will need to ask some questions all over again. Just how strong is the idea of Pakistan? Can this idea of Pakistan be hijacked? Who benefits with such a hijack? What benefits are expected from this hijacking?

To understand some questions on Pakistan, we need to abandon official Congressi narrative. Equally, the Western rubbish about Pakistan.

Some answers, we have. For some haze to clear, we will need to wait. For some outcomes, we must be prepared.

Related articles

• The headache that is Pakistan (quicktake.wordpress.com)
• Can the Malala moment carry the day in Pakistan? – Times of India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
• Girls in Pakistan: Victim, figurehead, martyr (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)

---