Peter Preston’ in his article “Pakistan is the real victim of Bush’s 9/11 folly” analyses correctly as to how Pakistan has suffered due to the wrongdoing of Americans, west and, of course, opportunist and short-sighted leaders of Pakistan.
The article which published in The Guardian on 9 October is an eye-opener for the policymakers of both countries. There is a need to understand Pakistan’s compulsions and the leadership crises. It’s very unfortunate that the champion of democracy prefers to deal with dictators, instead of parliament as it happened after 9/11.
It’s amazing that the only 19 percent see the real threat from archrival India and as per Pew Research Centre poll, 70 percent saw US as more of an enemy than a saviour. As the writer says, that in spite of all problems and shortcomings, “Yet the message of public opinion, in its bewilderment, cannot be ignored”.
If India and China can progress well, Pakistan could have also performed well, but in those 10 dreadful years Pakistan plunged into crises after crises. The most important factor which he also mentioned is the flux of more than two million Afghan refugees.
They are living here since the last 40 years, and are not only a burden on our fragile economy but some are natural sympathisers of extremists. Peter writes, “For three decades of Afghan tumult, Pakistan has been blown hither and yon by outside imbecilities. And 10 full years after 9/11, it is the heaviest casualty of them all”. Pakistan is the major sufferer in the last ten years but instead of appreciating it, a blame game is in full swing for the false satisfaction of Americans.
I fail to understand as to why the US is not concerned about public opinion of Pakistani people? Why in their eyes Pakistan is an enemy and not an ally? Why do they want to make Pakistan an scapegoat?
I think the US should start listening to the people’s voice. The barrel of a gun is not the solution of every problem. Killing the poor and innocent people, on the pretext of saving the Americans, is not well received and it’s time to reflect and correct the wrongdoing of the past.
Most Pakistanis feel that their leaders made a wrong choice by rushing to America after independence. The US has to prove through deeds that it is our well-wisher and not an enemy.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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