I just got done watching Christine Fair (@christinefair)’s argument on AJ Stream in favor of the drone strikes, while inviting well deserved flak for some of her comments. 

While both Christine and other invitees had a good talk on use of drones, their efficacy, arguments against their usage; there were really no arguments made to form a counter-narrative to the use of drones. Or that drones in effect are tools of war, aerial bombardment of any sort, in populated areas will result in civilian causalities. If you are serious about offering drone victims a respite, then you have to come up with an alternate narrative that actually deals with the situation on the ground.

The only alternate on offer was to conduct talks with the militants, like the ones being done in Afghanistan by the US. And the best part about this argument is that while making this point, there is not a single commentator, who would like to get into the details of these talks. The US pull-out plan includes maintaining spec-op troops in the country, with the CIA continuing to maintain its full strength presence (meaning more drones, and not less). Now, how can the same formula apply in Pakistan’s case? What are ‘our’ options on the table, when we suggest that the alternate to drones are talks with militants?

The only party in Pakistan which is currently offering a workable long-term alternative to that plan seems to be ANP, which wants to assimilate FATA into KPK. While there exist points both for and against the assimilation, as far as effective policing of FATA is concerned, this seems to be the only workable alternative. Otherwise, what you are left with, is an area which has little or no writ of the state and acts independent of the state’s policy.

Military strikes of any sort which result in civilian causalities deserve condemnation without question, there is no moral defense for it. At the same time, these military strikes and tools of war, will not cease to exist, only because we want them to, unless the reasons why they are being employed are dealt with. Isn’t this the time when opinion makers in Pakistan actually start coming up with workable alternatives to use of drones?

Dr. Syed Baqir Shah, the police surgeon responsible for performing autopsy on five foreigners killed in Kharotabad, Baluchistan and subsequently writing a damning report holding Police and FC personnel responsible for their death, has been gunned down in Quetta today.

The said doctor was first assaulted back in June, 2011 – right after his testimony before the tribunal investigating the Kharotabad incident. Well, he’s dead now. And you can count him as just another lone digit in the already long list of people unjustly killed in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan may, at the very most, order an inquiry or you might see the Supreme Court take suo moto notice of his killing. But rest assured, you will never come to know about his killers or see them being brought to justice.

Why?

Well, for one, the people of Pakistan certainly don’t mind innocents being killed any more. They do, every single day. And yet we have become so accustomed to this play of blood and gore that it just doesn’t register on our moral meter any more – which by the way only seems to work when Veena sheds her clothes.

Secondly, you cannot possibly hold the government responsible for this killing. What could they possibly have done? It’s not like the provincial government is in any capacity to provide security to police officers, or to well, transfer them if their lives are in danger. Add to the fact that this policeman always knew what he was getting into by posing a challenge to representatives of the security establishment, he was a marked man. Why then bother putting the government in danger by protecting someone who is a nobody to begin with? Marta hai to maray yaar, meri bala say.

And thirdly, the farce that we put up with in the name of justice via the apex court of Pakistan. Saleem Shehzad, Syed Baqir Shah, Hayat Khan and many other souls like them have, and will continue on to meet their fate at the hands of the so called ‘invisible’ forces in Pakistan. The government can’t face them, the supreme court of Pakistan can’t face them, the media can’t and the people of Pakistan are already at their mercy, left to be judged.

As for the security establishment, oh well, everyone knows who the dead doctor testified against and everyone has seen the videos. I’m sure at least this part doesn’t need spelling out loud.

Dear apex court and the government of ‘State of Pakistan’, pray don’t act surprised or like your cat got lost, if people don’t come out to protect your skin – next time the hidden hands come after you. You’re not exactly endearing yourself to them. This is but only a heads up.

Here is a list of a people from my timeline, who I believe are excellent sources of information, opinions, ideas, thoughts and everything that is of interest to a thinking mind. The list is not ordered in any way but only categorized to tweeps’ main interests.

Technology

Haris Nadeem – [@harisn] – Founder of SizzledCore.com, a software engineer in the making and a huge foodie.

Saad Ghauri – [@SaadGH] – New media developer, idea inventor, blogger, brand promoter, social media activist.

Omer Saleem – [@Omer_S] – A laid-back personality who is trying to catch up with today’s technology.

Awais Imran – [@waisybabu] – Passionate writer / blogger, casual photographer, sharer of amusing links and an amalgam of all things geeky.

Hamad Dar – [@HamadDar] – Blogging, music and social media fanatic.

Rabia Gharib – [@rabiagarib] – Editor-in Chief, CIO Pakistan.

Brian – [@bcpk] – Android Fanatic.

Muhammad Alam – [@alzeee] – An Electrical Engineer, a Digital Media
Strategist, a Product Manager, an Event Planner, a Blogger, a Citizen Journalist, a Social Worker and a Metal Head.

Ahmed Bilal – [@ahmedbilal] – CEO and Founder of Football Media. I tweet about Pakistan, marketing, self-improvement and generally interesting stuff.

Saadie – [@Saadie] – A software engineer.

Sohaib Muneer – [@SayB] – Web Applications Developer

Faisal Khan – [@babushka99] – Knowledge junkie, Trivia buff.

Arun Vijayan – [@mixdev] – Web dev.

Awais Athar – [@awaisathar] – PhD student working on Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing.

Atif – [@_c0d3r_] – Mechatronics Engineer, Android fanboy.

Ali Waqas – [@bonbondude] – Tech blogger by profession, an article writer by trending fashion, Investor for resourceful plans.

Harshad Sawant – [@Harsh4d] – I do something online…

Uzair Sajid – [@uzee] – Engineer / Technologist / Blogger / Gamer

Sohail Abid – [@sohailabid] – CTO at Jumpshare, Research Fellow (Punjabi Folklore) at Hri Southasian. Novelist.

Ejaz Asi – [@ejazasi] – Looks after digital and social media strategy & execution at The Brand Crew.

Fursid – [@fursid] – Photographer, Web/UI/UX Developer | Sr. UX Developer at @csquareonline | Inquisitive. Music & inspiration explorer.

Ghaus Nakodari – [@nakodari] – College Dropout. Entrepreneur. Founder of Jumpshare.

Sohaib Athar – [@reallyvirtual] – An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops.

Current Affairs

Mosharraf Zaidi – [@mosharrafzaidi] – Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan.

Shakir Husain – [@shakirhusain] – entrepreneur, columnist,and citizen

Issam Ahmed – [@IssamAhmed] – Journalist. Covers Pakistan for the Christian Science Monitor

Raza Rumi – [@Razarumi] – Writer, policy adviser, blogger from Pakistan

Arif Rafiq – [@pakistanpolicy] – Writes at the Pakistan Policy Blog. President of Vizier Consulting, LLC, which provides strategic guidance on Middle East/S. Asian political & security issues.

Omar Waraich – [@OmarWaraich] – Journalist covering Pakistan for TIME and The Independent.

Nitin Pai – [@acorn] – Editor of Pragati – The Indian National Interest Review & Fellow at The Takshashila Institution

K – [@evo8X8]

Shahid Saeed – [@shahidsaeed]

Mehmal Sarfaraz – [@mehmal] – Op-Ed Editor, Daily Times. Joint General Secretary, South Asian Women in Media.

Ejaz Haider – [@ejazhaider]

Kanchan Gupta – [@kanchangupta] – Writer and journalist. Associate Editor, The Pioneer.

Abbas Nasir – [@abbasnasir59] – Journalist.

Saeed Shah – [@saeedshah] – Journalist covering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Awab Alvi – [@drawab] – Geek, Dentist, Blogger.

Kaala Kawaa – [@kaalakawaa]

Declan Walsh – [@declanwalsh] – NYT correspondent in Pakistan.

Qasim Nauman – [@qasimnauman] – Reuters correspondent in Pakistan.

Feisal H. Naqvi – [@laalshah] – Part time journo; full time lawyer.

Nick Schifrin – [@nickschifrin - ABC news reporter in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Shiraz Hassan - [@shirazhassan] – Journalist, Blogger, Activist

David Steven – [@davidsteven] – IR buff.

Yusra Askari – [@YusraSAskari] – TV journalist

Maria Memon – [@maria_memon] – Journo / anchors @Meray_Mutabiq / Geo TV .

Urooj Zia – [@uroojzia] – Freelance journo and researcher; social entrepreneur-to-be.

Alexander Lobov – [@alexlobov] – Financial journalist. Asian financial markets. Middle Eastern politics.

Anthony Permal – [@anthonypermal] – Copywriter, marketing guru, social activist.

Thomas Baerthlein – [@thomasbarthlein] – Internews correspondent.

Nosheen Abbas – [@goshno] – BBC Journalist based out of Islamabad, Pakistan.

Mobisher Rabbani – [@MobisherR] – A Diplomatic consultant.

Jennie Mathew – [@jenniematthew] – AFP news editor Pakistan/Afghanistan.

Anthony Mitchell – [@aem76us] – A technologist.

Jim Pivonka – [@jimpivonka]

Farieha Aziz – [@FariehaAziz] – Journalist. Assistant editor at Newsline.

Ayesha Tammy Haq – [@tammyhaq] – Part time corporate lawyer and broadcast journalist.

Ahmad Nadeem Gehla – [@Nadeem_Gehla] – An Attorney working in corporate sector in Malaysia.

Ali Dayan Hasan – [@AliDayan] – Pakistan Director at Human Rights Watch.

Fasi Zaka – [@fasi_zaka] – A columnist.

Omar R. Quraishi – [@omar_quraishi] – Journalist — Editorial Pages Editor

Shaharyar Mirza – [@mirza9] – Journalist.

Jahanzaib Haque – [@jhaque_] – Web Editor, The Express Tribune.

Bushra Gohar – [@BushraGohar] – A politician.

Hafsa Khawaja – [@Hafsa_Khawaja] – Palaver about politics & global affairs.

Gul Bukhari – [@gulbukhari] – A columnist.

Josh Mull – [@joshmull] – ournalist and Commentator on politics, international relations, media and democracy.

Beena Sarwar – [@beenasarwar] – Journalist, artist, documentary filmmaker from Pakistan.

Patricia Scott – [@8s] – Human Rights, Environment.

Shahryar Popalzai – [@spopalzai] – Sub-editor, The Express Tribune.

Shezreh Mirza – [@ShezrehMirza] – Student at MSU,Gen Sect PSA. Major Economics & Public Policy.

Sherry Rehman – [@sherryrehman] – Pakistan’s ambassador to the US.

Haamid Peerzada – [@A123LAD] – Global Newsaholic, Liberal Progressive outlook, Keen Indo-Pak bystander, Tech-Buff, a Doctor by Degree.

Sonali Ranade – [@sonaliranade] – A trader.

Rezaul Hasan Laskar – [@Rezhasan] – Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan.

Pierre Fitter – [@pierrefitter] – Editor at India Today Group.

Jaskirat Singh Bawa – [@jk7_] – News Junkie. Caffeine Addict. Geek. Army Brat. TV Reporter.

H. S. Panang – [@rwac48] – Ex – Northern Commander Indian Army

Rabiya Shakoor – [@rshakoor] – Political news junkie.

Venkat Ananth – [@venkatananth] – Yahoo! Cricket Columnist, Foreign Affairs, Ex journalism lecturer.

Activism

Nighat Dad – [@nighatdad] – Internet Rights Activist, TakeBacktheTech Campaigner, FoE and Privacy Activist, Researcher, Lawyer, Women Rights Defender.

Sana Saleem -[@sanasaleem] – Blogger for the guardian,dawn.com & global voices.

Shreeya Sinha – [@shreeyasinha] – Journalist, Multimedia Producer, Social Media for @AsiaSociety | Formerly @mediastorm | Photography & Global Affairs.

Marvi Sirmed – [@marvisirmed] – Writes for Daily Times. Works on Parliamentary Development. Advocate of justice, peace, human rights and progressive values.

Kiran Manral – [@kiranmanral] – Blogger, Writer and Founder of IndiaHelps.

Naveen Naqvi – [@naveenaqvi] – Exec Director of Gawaahi, the NGO.

Jehan Ara – [@jehan_ara] – President of the Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES (P@SHA).

Cyber Warfare, Defense, Intelligence and Military Aviation

CyberWar – [@cyberwar] – Richard Stiennon,security industry analyst reporting on cyber defence and author of Surviving Cyberwar.

Lewis Shepherd – [@lewisshepherd] – Director of Microsoft Institute for Advanced Technology in Governments.

Mikhail Grinberg – [@mbgrinberg] – Consultant, strategist, student of the defense industry, interested in innovation, disruptive tech., and emerging markets. Architecture and photo enthusiast.

Manish Thakur – [@dailyexception] – National Security views from a NY investor in defense, security, cyber & space.

Gulliver – [@inksptsgulliver] – Ink Spots is a blog dedicated to the discussion of security issues across the spectrum of conflict & around the world.

Andrew Erickson – [@andrewserickson] – Open-source intel resource on China.

Raymond Pritchett – [@galrahn] – Enterprise Technology, Maritime Strategy, Foreign Policy, Government.

Blogs of War – [@blogsofwar] – National Security, Counterterrorism, Hacking, Military, Intelligence, Cyberwar, Arab Revolution, and International Affairs.

Clarisse Carnets – [@clarissecarnets] – Information, intelligence, security, geostrategy.

Aditi Malhotra – [@aditi_malhotra_] – Associate Fellow & Deputy Editor, Scholar Warrior at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.

Daaniyal – [@le_Sabre] – Ex-Air force chap… Dulce Bellum Inexpertis.

ISI GHQ – [@isi_ghq] – This twitter account is NOT endorsed or maintained by official military sources.

Mustaffa Kazemi – [@combatjourno] – War Correspondent. Former Military.

Ahsan Mukhtar – [@dj_bubble] – Apple fanboy.Co-curator TEDxMargalla.A person who believes in talking pictures and prefer Fighter jets over women !

M. Umair Masood – [@mumairmasood] – Beancounter, ALL survivor, a huge foodie, a lover of military aviation & cynic par excellence.

Opinionated

Mahwish – [@mahobili]

Imtiaz – [@inspirex] – Social interactive junkie, experimentation fanatic, marketing & business strategist.

Jyotishka Ray – [@oldmonkMGM] – Professional Bokachoda and i fart in your general direction.

Raza Shah – [@Raza_Shah] – Those who wish to follow me I welcome with my hands & the red sun sinks @last into the hills of gold & peace to this young warrior without the sound of guns.

Hafsa Q. – [@hafsaq]

Saahil Zafar – [@smokenfog] – Humanist. A Pakistani interested in politics and current affairs. Critical of religious dogma.

Bayl – [@baylinveil] – Development economist. slackademic Slacktivist. Killjoy feminist. anti-war. Anti-metanarrative.

Mehreen Kasana -[@mehreenkasana] – M16 with AN/PVS-2 night vision scope. Postmodern philosophy, sociopolitics, lit, foreign policy, religion, feminism. Rich mascara. Punk.

Anika Khan – [@justanika - An educated Darzan by profession.

Shakti Shetty - [@Shakti_Shetty] – Engineering dropout-out-of-choice| Philosourpher| Antiwordist| Pseudofunny| Stupid Poet| Struggling Writer| Lazy Human| Lazier Blogger| Opinionated Bot.

Ammar Yasir – [@ammaryasir] – Co-founder of TeaBreak.pk, blogger, Internet Junkie, Social Media Evangelist. Freelance technology writer.

iFaqeer – [@iFaqeer] – Communicator. Citizen. Fakir.

Anas MuhammadD – [@AnasMhd] – I trade, therefore I am. — Wall Street takes the brightest people and smashes them into the pavement on a regular basis.

Shemrez Nauman Afzal – [@shemreznauman] – Information Provider + Bibliophile + News Junkie.

Sara Muzzammil – [@SaraMuzzammil]

Zahir Riaz – [@zahirriaz] – Lawyer, radio presenter, bon vivant, ceaseless reader, erratic thinker, fantasy booker prize winner.

Naukhaiz – [@Naukhaiz] – Someone who lost his father in bomb blast at age of 10 but still hopeful bout Pakistan, Abdalian, CFA Charterholder, Certified Chartered Accountant UK, Lecturer.

Nazia Bilal – [@nlikeb] – I will write one the day they change Bio to Epitaph.

Alex H. Swift – [@lahorigori] – All my words come back to me, in shades of mediocrity, like emptiness and harmony… Simon & Garfunkel.

Sudhir Singh – [@sudhirksingh] – Journalist, ex-actor, nationalist, non-materialist who thinks only a spiritual revolution can save the world.

Sana Kazmi – [@sanakazmi] – cricket nut, wannabe social entrepreneur.

Orezavi – [@orezavi] – A wayfarer adventuring through a labyrinth of secret gardens! Info Junkie. #Music Nut. Friendly #Humanist. #Nerd Humorist.

Shamit Manchanda – [@shamit - Architect, Healthcare Architecture, Indian Institute of Architects, Alumnus: SPA, Modern School. Interests : Architecture, Design, Technology, Science.

Husham Ahmed - [@hushamahmed] – Babu

Sidra – [@DreamzDweller] – Exploring myself.

Hanifa Khanum Tareen – [@petitenugget] – Currently maintaining a food and anger diary.

N. G. Ranjha – [@ngranjha] – One of the 7 billion unfortunate ones that have survived.

Zee – [@owliebird] – I am the terror that flaps in the night. Wait, that’s Darkwing Duck.

Beenish – [@be3sbuzz]

Ell Enn – [@ell_enn]

Khaver Siddiqi – [@thekarachikid] – Writer. Listener. Geek.

Usman Bashir – [@gripusa] – A self egoasitc,foolishly truthfull, noisy and a geek. Currently, working for a sports media company as Technology Manager.

Nida Rasheed – [@nidarasheed] – I tweet interesting things I read throughout the day with some personal tweets thrown in. I’m also an absolute bitch. Tread with care.

Nida Khan – [@nidak_] – Must I restrict myself to a definition that fits into 160 characters?

Madiha Riaz – [@madihariaz] – I endorse Filmazia….and Picasso.

Yumnna – [@yumnna] – Little Architect with a growing interest in Urbanism.

Laeeq Rind – [@laeeqrind] – Free Spirit, Karma believer, Student of Software & IT, Gadget freak, Blogger, Techno friendly.

Assad Zulfikar Khan – [@pseudorebel] – Filmmaker, Political fanatic, Diehard Bhuttoist.

Nano M – [@supernova_nano]

Khawar Mehmood – [@rawahk]

Faisal Khan – [@DevilsAdvocated] – An energetic soul in an ageing body.

Raakin – [@raakin] – Guy who owns HUQA™/18% of mainstream Pakistani Music on iTunes.

Talha Zareef – [@zareef4] – Wannabe Intellectual, Photographer, Writer, narcissist and Master of all trades.

Kashif Aziz – [@kashaziz] – I am an Internet Consultant and Entrepreneur. Also into PHP, WordPress, SEO, Social Media, Web Marketing and Blogging.

Walie Paracha – [@walie] – Project Manager / Senior Manager Business Intelligence. Father of a lovely baby doll. Follow Global Economy & Political news religiously.

Usama Khilji – [@UsamaKhilji] – Writer, Activist. Pukhtun & nerdy. Overwhelming. High on life. Youth leader.

Rafi – [@morafi] – Student of life. Trying to make a positive difference. Learning about technology, business, family, faith, politics & cricket.

Vishal – [@knotty_v] – Follow me for critical analysis on cricket, defence, movies, software, electronic gadgets, politics and much more.

Prasanna – [@Flyfiddlesticks] – I click, I ride, I read, and I opine.

Titto Antony – [@tittoantony] – I’ve Got a Feeling…Like last night wasn’t such a good night Cause my head really doesn’t feel right and god dammit, the sun is too, too bright.

Naveen – [@naveenks] – News Junkie. Tweets are for information purpose only. No agenda based tweeting.

Absurd – [@absurd] – It is never bulls vs bears; it is always bulls + bears vs. you.

Elisheva – [@malangchic] – The greatest crime you’ll ever commit against humanity is remaining silent about situations of injustice.

Sarabjit Singh – [@nihang]

Shivam Vijay – [@dillidurast]

Rajeel Arab – [@so_lucifer] – Architect, avid reader, a wannabe – writer, traveler, artist, dancer, photographer, film critic!

Mahnoorie – [@mahnoorie] – Champion eater. Francophile. Kid lit/YA lit warrior. Unicorn-phobe.

Samad Khurram – [@samadk] – Employed by the Government of Pakistan. I realize that makes me pretty useless, and I don’t particularly mind that.

Rafaya Sufi – [@r_sufi] – Researcher of Food Security in Punjab, Pakistan by day. Policy wonk by night.

So, per usual practice, Pakistanis have found themselves embroiled in yet another diplomatic crisis of sorts, whereby their trust on civilian and military state institutions of Pakistan is being tested.

By now, I’m sure that almost every single one of you reading these words has all the background information on this case. So I shall not waste your time in giving a detailed backgrounder to this incident.

That said, without getting into the veracity of claims being lobbed against the Pakistani Ambassador to the US, I would really like to discuss the memo itself. And see if the anger being directed at it is solely because the institution of armed forces was undermined or is there more to it?

The memo contains 6 key points, and I’ll discuss a couple of them which I find very interesting.

1. President of Pakistan will order an independent inquiry into the allegations that Pakistan harbored and offered assistance to UBL (OBL?) and other senior Al-Qaeda operatives. The White House can suggest names of independent investigators to populate the panel, along the lines of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, for example.
2. The inquiry will be accountable and independent and result in findings of tangible value to the US government and the American people that identify with exacting details those elements responsible for harboring an aiding OBL inside and close to the inner ring of influence in Pakistan’s Government (civilian, intelligence directorate and military). It is certain that the OBL commission will result in immediate termination of active service officers in the appropriate government offices and agencies found responsible for complicity in assisting OBL.

The offer, at its face value, seems like that of a colony of the US offering its services to the United States government.

But moving on from there, what do you see? OBL was an accepted enemy of the state of Pakistan. We have officially gone to war against Al-Qaeda and have since the year 2001 sacrificed well over 30,000 lives (civilian and military) in this war. So, why should the government of Pakistan not conduct an independent inquiry into whether known terrorists of the likes of Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts were helped by any Pakistani?

As for the judicial commission probing the killing of OBL and circumstances that led to it, pray pay attention to who’s heading it, his appointment during 2007 emergency and the role he played at the very offset of judicial crisis and you’ll know where this commission is headed.

In other words, yaar kisko ullo ka patha samjha hoa hai?

4. One of the great fears of the military-intelligence establishment is that with your stealth capabilities to enter and exit Pakistani airspace at will, Pakistan’s nuclear assets are now legitimate targets. The new national security team is prepared, with full backing of hte Pakistani government, – initially civilian but eventually all three power centers – to develop an acceptable framework of discipline for the nuclear program. This effort was begun under the previous military regime with acceptable results. We are prepared to reactivate those ideas and build on them in a way that brings Pakistan’s nuclear assets under a more verifiable, transparent regime.

So, if developing a framework geared towards bringing more transparency to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program is wrong – and the steps under taken by the previous ‘military regime’ had to be ‘halted’ – when are we bringing culprits responsible from within the previous military regime to justice? Are the same authorities and people baying for blood for including nukes in this memo, ready to bring General (r) Pervez Musharraf to justice for actually undertaking such steps, with obvious monetary input from the United States Government, in the first place?

As noted by Mosharraf Zaidi here the time is ripe for Pakistan to kickstart a debate on Civilian-Military relationship and how Pakistanis wish to go about it.

To decide, if we are ready to address the differences or are we good with only prosecuting civilians while the men-in-camo get away with murder? The idea is pretty simple actually. Any such acts which put in question the very sovereignty of Pakistan, whether conducted by a military man or a civilian should be dealt with equal severity.

The ex-commander in chief of armed forces, who gave permission to foreign forces to station killer drones on Pakistani soil, who actually took money from the United States government to improve ‘security systems’ surrounding our nuclear weapons program and for making it more transparent, who allowed private military contractors to operate inside Pakistan – certainly did not question the sovereignty of Pakistan. We don’t get angry with him, instead offer explanations as to what else could Pakistan have done? The Americans had threatened us with sending us back to the stone ages, had we not sided with them. We sympathize with the poor generalissimo, for how hard would it have been for the poor soul to take such a decision.

He was therefore given a 21-gun salute and sent off prancing around the world to deliver lectures.

But at the same time, we ask for the head of the first civilian we see courting the Americans. Because he is of course putting in question the very sovereignty of Pakistan.

Hypocrisy, much?

The idea behind this post is not to underplay whatever Ambassador Haqqani did or did not do – but instead to reflect back on our inherent hypocrisy when treating matters of national security when the culprit is a civilian versus a military man. If Pakistanis did not act upon resolving this matter, that too on their own, I don’t believe there will be much time left before we even stop considering it an oddity.

I sincerely hope that this post of mine is seen in a positive light and not considered as my attempt at evading your privacy. I have just gotten out of Pakistan’s biggest yet Social Media Summit, and during the summit, I was able to – while using a simple Android application – hijack browser sessions of tens of top Pakistani bloggers / tweeples.

I didn’t do this, in order to blackmail them or anything, I didn’t alter anything with their accounts, neither looked into them. Instead just performed the hacking bit, so that I am able to get a point across. You are the opinion makers of Pakistan’s blogosphere, people follow your examples in word and in actions. Hence, it is of utmost importance that you show them the basic practices which can keep one’s Social Media experience relatively hassle free.

Following are some of the people whose browser sessions I was able to hijack during the course of the day. After the break, I’ll describe exactly how you can over come this security issue.

For Twitter:

Click ‘Settings’
Go to the very end of the page
‘Check’ Always use HTTPS.

For Facebook:

Click Account Settings
Click on Account Security
‘Check’ Browse Facebook on a Secure Connection (https)

For the last 64 years, Pakistanis of all caste, color, creed, political inclinations and points of view have become quite adept at playing a game of passing the parcel, to refuse responsibility in all ways possible.

Ask the people on the Right, and it’s because of the US centric policies which have landed us in hot waters, ask the people on the Left and it’s the religious indoctrination which is causing the mayhem in Pakistan. For some the Army is the root cause of all evils in Pakistan, for others it’s the politicians.

What no one is willing to acknowledge is that ultimately, at the end of the day, there are ‘Pakistanis’ being killed day in and day out. Once dead, no one is going to put a label on your grave identifying you with your political ideology. It dies alongside you.

Therefore, every single one of us who does not respond to a Pakistani’s death; in a drone strike, a target killing, a religiously inspired killing, a rape or a murder is responsible for the death of Pakistan. We have simply stopped caring about the sanctity of human life. Be it our institutions or the common people of Pakistan, we all should be held accountable for our silence.

The Army, because it has let itself be led blind by its strategic desires. It simply does not care that its wishes are driving Pakistanis down the path of self-destruction. There will be no country left to defend, if the people are killing each other inside it like mad-dogs.

The Executive and Legislature, because they are all too busy caving into personal interests and self-preservation to actually really bother about the mayhem that surrounds us. Not a single law has been passed to affect judicial proceedings of terrorism suspects. The courts do not make laws, the parliament does, and no work has been done in this regards to allow technical, circumstantial evidence to be made part of regular police work that is given to the court, to build a case against terrorism suspects.

The Courts, because they simply do not consider it as part of their responsibility to question the Executive on its ineptitude, except for their favorite subject of corruption. Not that it is not an evil that is eating through our roots, but it is most certainly not the ‘only’ evil we face. Not once, have I seen the courts question the state of Pakistan on how does it allow so many terrorism suspects to go scot free. Not once the courts asked the government to introduce new laws and terms which could lead to better and more comprehensive trials of terrorism suspects. The Courts really do not live in a vacuum, void of effects of whatever is transpiring in Pakistan, why the denial then?

And ultimately, the onus of responsibility is on us; the people of Pakistan. Here is where the buck stops, not the politicians, not the courts and not the army. We have only ourselves to blame for being scared into silence. We paid the price of a million plus souls to get this piece of land, it really did not come to us for free. How can we then possibly refuse to accept responsibility for it?

And how are we not responsible for the present state of Pakistan if we continue to support religious bigotry, violence, corruption, institutional marginalization of females and the weak (be them poor or a religious minority)? How can we possibly escape the blame? And if we are not ready to claim a stake in this land, much unlike our forebears, responsible for its making, then who will? Should we be asking the Indians, or the Americans, or the British, or the Arabs, or the Chinese to come down here and do the job for us – because we are either simply inept, or just don’t care any more?

The change therefore, if there is to be one, will have to start with us – the people of Pakistan. I don’t care if you are a Mullah, or a Hijabi, or a whiskey chugging Liberal or a person simply trying to make ends meet, the least you can do is to stop supporting the killings of your fellow Pakistanis. This has to stop. You have to start caring again.

Don’t kill Pakistan, please!

Almost every major newspaper in Pakistan has gone nuts starting yesterday morning when Guardian established it on authority that Raymond is in fact working on contract with the CIA and was originally employed by XE (previously Blackwater). As of today Washington Post has further divulged that he was a part of a JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) covert unit, authorized to locate Al Qaeda and Lashker e Taiba members in Pakistan.

This bit of information gives further credence to the three reports by Jeremy Scahill for The Nation last year, which were at that time dis-credited by majority of the regional security analysis crowd as extreme far-left hogwash.

The Secret US War in Pakistan
The Expanding US War in Pakistan
Blackwater in Pakistan

Now, I have in mind a few questions, which I believe if answered, can correctly reflect upon the current status of cooperation between intelligence agencies of the United States and that of Pakistan.

It is generally considered true that ISI already knew about Raymond Davis’s employer being the CIA. Now, merging that information with the fact that a similar CIA unit helped ISI grab Mullah Bradar in Karachi last year, it can be reasonable well established that ISI was in absolute knowledge of the activities of this particular cell.

1. So how were the two other men, responsible for a hit and run, while trying to reach Davis able to escape Pakistan? I know it as well as any serious reader in here, that when it comes to intel ops, ECL is not the only list that can stop people from traveling out of Pakistan.
2. If the said unit was in fact snooping around for LeT members, and the ISI was already in cohorts, what does that say about our aspirations regarding local militant groups? Has ISI finally started the crackdown, even if in such a meagre way?
3. And the most serious question of them all, if for some reason the ISI did not know about what this unit was up to, what does that say about our counter-intelligence capabilities?

There’s a fourth question as well, and this is meant for the media coverage of this issue.

4. Associated Press, Washington Post and The New York Times all withheld information regarding Raymond Davis’s true employer in order to protect him from further scrutiny in Pakistan and for the sake of ‘National Security’ – how many Pakistani media channels or news papers would have done the same, if put in a similar situation?

In my personal opinion, it is about time that the military establishment and government of Pakistan came out clean when it comes to ties between US intelligence agencies and their Pakistani counter-parts. By doing that, they will not only be able to counter propaganda and spread of mis-information. But also let the world know, that Pakistan is in fact playing a serious role in this war.

While yes, there might be consequences for such a decision, but with the speed with which such incidents are coming to light these days, courtesy news media and the internet – they would be far better off by not being on the back-foot at every single such instance. It is time to get serious about this side of information warfare as well.

A two part post, which shall discuss the lack of a national dialogue on terrorism, radicalization of masses and the complete apathy of the state and to an extent its opinion makers, towards finding a lasting solution.

rad.i.cal – advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs – merriam webster

For some months now, the narrative on most of Pakistan’s leading English and Urdu newspapers and the wide plethora of internet blogs, representing points of view of both the political right and left, on issues such as ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism’ is getting rather nasty. Instead of genuine soul-searching as a ‘nation’, the general rhetoric has been reduced to mere finger pointing, at each other.

What has personally disappointed me the most, is the fact that this third rate ‘war of semantics’ has now moved from our TV screens on to the blogosphere. The web, which was supposed to be the last vestige of the learned from Pakistan, has turned into fish-market of columnists, intellectuals, bloggers et al., calling each other names.

As things stand, you are either a part of the ‘Mullah/Hijabi’ brigade or a ‘Liberal Fascist’ these days and no body gives a crap about the actual message anymore. It’s the labels and cliches which now matter the most.

This, above everything else, shows that radicalism of thought, is fast seeping across our entire political spectrum, irrespective of the professed ideology.

Pray tell me, how will this help Pakistan through the predicament that it currently finds itself in?

I am no expert in devising public policy, but simple common sense dictates that calling each other names and pointing fingers in each other’s direction, is certainly not going to do the job for us. If the current apathetic state of affairs does not change, rest assured no one single side will be left to claim a win over the other. It’s about time that we ‘grew up’ as a nation.

Coming back to the original topic, where exactly is Pakistan’s initiative to de-radicalize its masses? Day in and day out, we read about more think-tanks, more seminars, workshops and more ‘experts’ on radicalization sprouting up, and still see no one talking about an actual de-radicalization exercise, en masse.

The radicalization exercise, state and establishment sponsored, has went on for a good 30 years now and a rather obnoxious, ill-thought and ill-conceived effort on part of Gen. (r) Musharraf in form of ‘enlightened moderation’ was never the cure. You don’t deliberately indoctrinate your nation, and then one fine day wake up and tell them to change their mind. Because now, everything that is being asked from them or told to them, automatically gets judged against a set of religiously inspired ideals (from a particularly myopic point of view). Hence, not really a case of 1 + 1 = 2.

At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the fact that it always takes two to tango. It would be rather unfair of me to simply pick up ‘religiously inspired radicalism’ and point my finger at it as the root cause of all ills in Pakistan. Throughout our history, our nation has been in the grips of one sort of extremism or the other; ethnic, linguistic, sectarian and religious. From the days of political violence during and after elections of the 1950s, FSF, introduction of student militias and weaponry in our universities under the garb of student unions in the 70s, the rampant murders of political opponents et al, and an absolutely failing law and order situation has prepared the Pakistani society as a very fertile ground for the plant of religious radicalization. Hence the people of Pakistan too, cannot absolve themselves of the blame.

So, where do we go from here? What choices do we have? And what can we do in order to come back from the brink? I’d be giving my two bits on that in the next post and would really appreciate it if the readers can pitch in with their ideas as well.

I was already planning to write a paragraph or two about Robert Haddick’s piece in Foreign Policy on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and then I came across this piece by @filterc at NI’s website, so thought of addressing both of them together.

The ‘hyperbole’ that India has never threatened Pakistan or that it maintains a no-first use policy on nuclear weapons are moot points, even if we don’t consider the violent history between the two nations. No nation maintains its weapons capability keeping in mind the ‘intentions’ of its natural adversary alone, which can always change but instead its capabilities. Furthermore, India’s policy of no-first use only deals with states which do not possess nuclear weapons, which automatically makes the point irrelevant in case of Pakistan.

Let me put it across bluntly, what Pakistan threatens India with is exactly what India threatens China with, and what China threatens the US with i.e unacceptable pain without any particular gains on the ground.

Now, in case of Pakistan such strategic status quo is increasingly dependent upon its non-conventional weapons program as opposed to its conventional fighting capability, since India is taking strong strides on the economic front which are resulting in it upgrading its armed forces’ both conventional and non-conventional weapons capabilities (MMRCA, FGFA, AMCA, new subsonic and supersonic cruise and ballistic missile programs, nuclear subs et al).

And hereby @filter_c argues that

No, the explanation is neither the most obvious, nor enduring.  Because it presupposes and rationalizes the argument that Pakistan must gain strategic parity with India under all circumstances. 

Keeping in view of the above mentioned reality, it can be argued that Pakistan cannot afford to, nor will ever seek to achieve parity with India. So then, how does it maintain the status quo? Essentially by upgrading its non-conventional weapons capabilities.

When I refer to the word ‘upgrading’, it doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in the ‘number’ of nuclear weapons but instead better and more accurate delivery platforms, more plutonium (instead of uranium) based warheads for its ballistic and cruise missiles (because they ensure a better ratio of yield versus weight of the fissile material used per warhead) and an ensured second nuclear strike capability by deploying plutonium based warheads on its subs. The idea is not to achieve parity – but to maintain the status quo.

This is where Pakistan’s strong objections to FMCT come into play. The idea behind the delay and the sudden increase of plutonium reactors is to enable Pakistan to accumulate sufficient plutonium stocks before Pakistan can no longer postpone entry into the FMCT.

It would also be prudent to note that Pakistan’s current plutonium reserves versus those of India, which has maintained a strong plutonium based nuclear weapons program since the 1970s, are akin to peanuts.

While India may not have converted its fissile stocks into warheads, it means nothing, since this can be done at a short notice. India has already ‘officially’ announced building a ‘triad’ (sea, air, land) of 400 operationally deployed nuclear weapons, which includes a second-strike capability, in its nuclear doctrine. These many number of weapons, including a sea-based second nuclear strike capability does have effects on ‘acceptable deterrence’ capability of an adversary nation, which is a dynamic and essentially a psychological concept.

The attached file contains the detailed verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, on reports that Gov. of Pakistan wishes to withdraw the notification of their restoration.

Download: REPORTS ALLEGING THAT GOVERNMENT IS CONSIDERING WITHDRAWAL OF THE NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF JUDGES – DATED 16.03.2009 [PDF]