America’s so-called War on Terror
Memona Firdous

PAKISTAN’S tribal areas which comprise seven tribal agencies including other frontier regions are infested with the local Taliban elements who have been creating continuous problems for the law enforcing agencies, federal and provincial governments including their allies, in the war against terrorism.
Growing and spreading militancy by these extremist groups in the settled regions of Pakistan is trying to radicalize the moderate elements. Without any doubt, whether there is insurgency or militancy in Swat or tribal agencies, local Taliban are largely being helped by their colleagues and across the border from Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, anyone who is carrying a gun in the NWFP, according to the culture of the land, is termed as Taliban and is also considered as enemy of the state. The fact of the matter is that no one has ever realized that there are no Taliban on Pakistan’s side of the border; rather these elements who are engaged in insurgency or either trained by their aides from Afghanistan or supported by hostile agencies of the neighboring countries intend to destabilize Pakistan at any cost. Even media in Pakistan has this misconception about the emergence of these so-called local Taliban and has been projecting every minor detail in negative sense, thus causing and damaging soft image of the country inside and abroad. The actual breeds of Taliban who are now considered part of Al Qaida, took part in liberation of Afghanistan from the Soviet Union and now are engaged in battle with the NATO forces.
Traditionally, tribesmen on Pakistan’s side of the border have deep routes in Afghanistan, having century’s old blood relationship with each other and are so socially intermixed that one cannot stop them to meet their relatives across the border. Tribesmen of NWFP are very religiously motivated people and this aspect has been thoroughly exploited by the Taliban and anti-Pakistan elements for militancy and suicide attacks inside the country.
After the disintegration of the former Russia, a number of Taliban crossed the border along with their families, took refuge in most volatile tribal agencies in North and South Waziristan which are adjacent to Pak-Afghan border. About twenty years, they remained very peace loving and completely merged themselves in the local tribes until the security forces moved in tribal areas in year 2004 to find Osama Bin Laden—his allies as demanded by the US-led western allies.
In fact, Taliban which settled in the tribal belt of Pakistan originated from all across the globe which included Chechens, Sudanese, Uzbeks, Arabs and so many other related groups who, afterwards, became part of the most dangerous organization now known as Al Qaida. After nine eleven incident which is still a mystery for America which launched a comprehensive campaign to track down Osama Bin Laden and his allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
However, after the lapse of more than five years this useless American campaign has only brought blood shed in Pakistan and on the other hand Al Qaida has been operating successfully all across the globe. USA and her allies have badly failed to find Osama entourage. With so many sophisticated weapons systems, satellites and information available on ground Americans fail to track down him, but on the other hand, Pakistan continues to suffer more in this futile war than any other ally or suspected top Al Qaida commander which was handed over to Washington in the past.
Has anybody ever thought in the world as to why Americans are pushing hard on Pakistan and Afghanistan to keep on going with the ongoing so-called war on terror? Political experts may analyze, but has the US any appropriate reply to this logic question. Having no logical reply, there may be the case not to win the war against terrorism, but to fulfill some other evil designs. Let’s take the case of Afghanistan where Americans engaged themselves in war on terror and when beaten back has now intend to involve NATO forces on larger scale by giving them new justification to save Europe and  make the world a safe heaven by preventing Taliban  from getting control of Kabul.
Reportedly, US transport air craft are busy in transporting precious metals and minerals from Afghanistan to USA. Is this war on terrorism and militancy? On the other hand, war pundits in Pentagon are daily predicting presence of Al Qaida in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan on the basis of their so-called credible information.
Malicious propaganda has been conducted by American state and private media by writing venomous articles on this failed campaign in connection with terrorism. The fact is that none of these journalists has ever visited Pakistan and Afghanistan and just having some link in tribal areas, they keep on pursuing malicious agenda of Washington. In case of Pakistan just by merely threatening the man-in-charge Pervez Musharaff, Americans obtained all facilities which they may have not dreamt through out their country profile. Islamabad is providing all the logistic support to NATO troops operating in Afghanistan coupled with all the requisite information on the suspected militant’s hideouts and facilitating operation. In this campaign against terrorism, Pakistan is that country which suffered the most, by sacrificing so many security officials and troops, but in contrary is still a suspected character in the eyes of the USA.
After election on February18, 2008, heavy mandate granted to political parties was not only against the president but also against the so much imposed war on terrorism which has almost put the entire country in jeopardy and panic. Denouncing the US policies in the region, Pakistani politicians took the raging bull by the horns and spelled out the future policies of their country which have certainly made the Bush Administration worried. American diplomats who recently visited Pakistan were given cold shoulder by the ruling elites and it was clearly indicated that enough is enough and now every policy will be made through the parliament.
At present, Bush Administration is keener to keep its man in power—that is to say Pervez Musharaff at any cost, thus pressurizing the new elected government from all angles including greed which can be offered to keep their country engaged against the so-called war on terror.  Like the new elected rulers, even, Gen Kayani has spelled out his priorities to involve all warring factions in the dialogue process to bring long lasting peace in the region. It also seems that Americans want to carry along with war to touch the Korakoram in the deep North top so as to counter China, so they have no interests in this prolonged war.Pakistan is at the crossroad of her history and sooner or later has to decide the true course of actions in this war against terrorism. Washington too should realize now the game is getting over for them in the region and they must wind up now as there may not be ample support available for them now. Total scenario is changing now, political forces have come to power in Pakistan and it would be difficult for Americans to cope up with the new leadership.

Indo-Israel relations threatens world peace
Mamoona Ali Kazmi

DEFENCE ties between India and Israel has gained momentum in the recent years. The relationship between the two countries has deepened so much so that India has almost forgotten its commitment with the Palestinian cause and strengthening economic and military ties with Israel. It has signed many defence deals with Israel for procurement of advanced Missiles system. Apart from this it is also facilitating Israel in its efforts to launch satellites for spying on the Islamic countries from Iraq to Pakistan. India has become Israel's largest defence customer, with purchases worth $ 1.5 billion in 2006 alone. Tel Aviv is poised to grab a major chunk of the whopping $ 30 billion that New Delhi will spend on defence purchases over the next five years.
Although India had recognized Israel in September 1950, diplomatic relations were only established in January 1992. Between this period India covertly conducted its relations with Israel as it did not want to annoy its Muslim population, the Arab world as well as its strategic ally, Soviet Union. Israel helped India with arms and military hardware during her wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1965&1971). After the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi India sought Israel's help to improve the protection of its important people. Since the early 1980s, Indian army and military intelligence officers received anti-terrorist training in Israel. In the late 1980's India and Israel were engaged in a secret dialogue over destroying Pakistan's nuclear facility in Kahuta and signing military agreements, In all these contacts strict secrecy was maintained to give an impression to the Arab world and Soviet Union that India had no ties with Israel.
After the end of the cold war India's biggest supplier of arms, Soviet Union disintegrated and crucial supplies of arms and military spare parts were interrupted. At that time India wanted to diversify its defence suppliers and was understood to have undergone a post-Cold War rethink as ties with Soviet Union no longer served as an obstacle to relations with Israel.
The decision of the Indian government to upgrade diplomatic ties with Israel was influenced by different factors. First, Delhi understood the importance of military cooperation with Tal Aviv. Israel's developed and research-oriented industrial-military complex was viewed by India as a good option answering some of its defence and security needs. Israel's sophisticated expertise in manufacturing and upgrading high-combat aircraft; anti-tactical ballistic missiles, electronic warfare and communication equipment, as well as security technology were of particular interest to India. Indian military officials were not only interested in Israeli weapons and technology, but also in the Israel Defence Forces' warfare strategies and concepts.
Secondly, both Israeli Government and BJP share repressive beliefs concerning the neighbouring Muslim countries as part of their political ideologies. The former claims the whole of Palestine to be Promised Land of Jews alone and the later considers India as a land where Hindutva should reign supreme. These similar ideological beliefs have led to a meeting of minds between the two extreme right-wing governments. No wonder both countries are known for their antagonism towards their neighbors for religious/ political reasons and a repressive regime for the Muslim population living within. According to the Telegraph of 25 June 2002," Both BJP and Israel believe the two countries, surrounded as they are by hostile Muslim neighbours, should stick together to fight Islamic fundamentalism. With the BJP in power in Delhi, the relationship has taken wings".
Lastly, Indo-Israeli collaboration aims to assist each other in order to terrorize and subjugate Palestinians along with Kashmiris forever. India is seeking Israeli experience of crushing Palestinian "intifada" in order to employ the same in Jammu and Kashmir to squelch the freedom struggle. From 1993 onwards, this "counter-terrorist" collaboration became quite open. Israel has trained India’s border security forces personnel, notorious for their human rights abuses in Kashmir in exchange for the toning down of India’s backing of the Palestine cause. Israeli Gen. Avi Mizrahi, head of Israel’s Ground Forces Command, visited Indian Held Kashmir in September 2008 to access India’s counter-terrorism efforts and preparedness of Indian forces. After the visit Israel agreed to send a team of commandoes to train Indian soldiers in counter-terrorism tactics and urban warfare.
India and Israel want to control South Asia and Middle East respectively. Thus, the Middle Eastern Arab states are greatly threatened by Indo-Israel defence collaboration as both are anti-Muslim, terrorist, hostile states engaged in suppressing Muslims for centuries. The growing strategic ties between India and Israel and their cooperation in the nuclear field have created serious concerns in Arab world. During his visit to Israel in May 2000, Indian Home Minister L. K. Advani said, “I support the expanded cooperation between Israel and India in all fields, including this [nuclear] field". India is also acquiring chemical warfare technology from Israel, which it imported secretly from the West in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
India and Israel are engaged in hostile activities with their neighbouring states. According to observers, pressure from the international community, should be exerted on India and Israel to block further negotiations regarding defence deals for the promotion of peace and stability in the South Asian and Middle Eastern region. There is a dire need to impose a definite check and control on Indo-Israel defence nexus before it destabilizes the strategic balance in the region and peace efforts be hampered.
 

Assam’s serial blasts – Assamese know the real culprits
Ibn-e-Rehmat

EVERY time the breaking new banner appears, the mind clicks to only one blood-soaked message, God forbid there may be one more sabotage incident. This time Guwahati city, Kokrajhar, , Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar town, Rupnath Brahma civil hospital, Barpeta road, public transport and commercial centers like vegetable, fish and Choudhary markets, remained the centers of gory scenes. Ironically, the saboteurs selected their poor vendors, petty shop-keepers or innocent buyers/clients. This appears strange but Assamese know their enemy who really are their enemies or targets, because they no more want forced occupation of their area by Indian Security Forces, imposition of draconian laws, piracy of their precious natural resources and imperial rule of India. Assam is the largest State in the Northeast, with vast alluvial plains, covered with forests, rolling tracts of paddy, tea plants and oilfields on both sides of mighty Brahmaputyra River. The state has 78523 kilometer area and more than 28 million populations with sizeable Muslim minority, which according to official data is 28.4%. The state is the one, worst hit due to freedom movement spearheaded by United Liberation Front of Assam(ULFA) and number of other significant groups such as National Bodo Liberation Front (NDFB) Adivasi Cobra Force (ACF) Hmar People’s Convention Democracy (HPC-D) Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and a number of other small groups. Assam Independence Movement is one of the most hostile insurgencies that have baptized Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram and Megalaya Freedom struggles against the usurpation of their right of self-determination.
It is said that most of the bombs were planted in the cars. According to reports, the timer devices went off around the same time and the blasts followed the similar pattern. Unlike past, this time, ULFA’s categorical denial, having any connection with gruesome killing shifted the responsibility on the unknown party, who always remained in the news. If the prime rebel organization is not behind it, then whose handiwork it could be? Perhaps wiggle the needle of suspicions against the state actors. Moreover the selection of the timings, when the Indian Prime Minister was about to visit the state, such inhuman activity may be aimed at winning over the sympathies of the indigenous people. During the last few years, the economic turn-around and alleviation of poverty has injected a new spirit in the Indians. Earlier, India used to be remembered a country steeped in sheer impoverishment, lawlessness, inhumanity, injustice, social and economic disparity. But such a silver linings proved short lived, a pigment of imagination and a fate written on the shifting sand dunes. Say it a tragedy or a mischance, detonation of so many blasts, within so short a span of time, and killing or injuring of so many innocent people, for no fault of their own.