Cheers for the UN [Archives:2006/948/Letters to the Editor]
By: Barkatullah Marwat
[email protected]
Three cheers for the United Nations. After all, after a long time, it finally awoke to what's going on in the internationally ill-reputed lock-up, Gitmo. I don't call it a jail since most inmates have been imprisoned simply on the basis of doubt, which is why they reportedly are being released turn by turn. Just this past Friday, we witnessed 15 Saudi citizens set free.
Everyone knows that the nature of these cells is illegal. Inmates not only are subjected to ill treatment but also denied access to their fundamental rights while to the contrary, the cells' administrator always speaks highly of human rights violations.
Likewise, I experienced a surprising aspect of the situation on Thursday when Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi regretfully said sending troops to Iraq was a “grave mistake” and that he is going to pull his troops from Iraq. This means that the war against terrorism slowly and gradually is losing its validity because it is certain that it's now continuing against Muslims. However, its direction could be diverted to non-Muslim nations already in a Cold War situation with Uncle Sam, like North Korea and some European Union members, in addition to Russia, which is rising once again.
Afghanistan and Iraq are countries where efforts are ongoing to combat terrorism. However, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's allegation that Pakistan is behind what is going on there is simply baseless and absurd. He should not forget that Afghanistan is behind what is going on in Baluchistan and Waziristan. His allegations sounded like the pot calling the kettle black. Before pointing his finger at Musharraf, he must look down at his own collar. The UK commander also accused Pakistan of the grave situations in Afghanistan, but Pakistan has no time to poke its nose into their affairs, especially under current circumstances where it is fighting off its own internal uproar.
When I look at Pakistan, not as a citizen but as an observer, it has been complying leniently and in a friendly manner with orders, threats and requests from all directions. But what if it also stands up like North Korea or Iran? Therefore, don't force Pakistan to be like that, otherwise the entire South Asian region will blow up.
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