Do the People in pakistan realise that every statement these guys make these days gets international exposure? It is not a issue of Panjabi Pharrah for Lahore’s consumption any more! The news used to travel upto Multan at best as I am given to understand. Now it travels around the Globe first before it gets to Multan. How does one explain the various Generalissmo’s to one’s american friends? Couple this with the news today that the present Generalissmo has authorized small scale incursions into Kashmir and instructed the people on the ground to keep it quite; ofcourse the people on the ground called the western newspapers first thing to wangle a few dollars for the story!!! Sheeeshh!! No wonder they are talking about fingerprinting pakistanis!!!
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-9-2002_pg3_6
Second opinion: Predictable Urdu reaction to 9/11
Khaled Ahmed’s Urdu Press Review
The typically savage theory of letting the Kashmiris bleed because Pakistan has to keep the Indian army engaged in Kashmir to benefit China is simply not tenable. In economic and social terms, only Pakistan and the Kashmiris have suffered. The Indians are flying high and the world is with them: that is what our military mind has achieved in the past 13 years
The reaction of the Urdu press to 9/11 began in 2001 with the belief that the Twin Towers had been destroyed by Israel. Later it became focused on the destruction of Afghanistan by the US-led coalition forces in search of Osama bin Laden. Urdu remained close to the response of the ulema to 9/11. At least two retired generals, one a chief of the ISI and one chief of the army itself, led the anti-American campaign in the press. Initially, the switchover to the Taliban was resented, but once the Urdu press took to the Taliban as ideal Islamic rulers, it remained loyal and took on General Musharraf for changing the army’s pro-Taliban policy. The Urdu press responded to 9/11 by becoming more anti-American.
Professor Ghafoor of Jamaat Islami wrote in “Jang” (11 September 2002) that perhaps the 9/11 terrorism did not happen. He referred to two books published in France that challenged the American version of who was guilty of destroying the twin towers of New York. One book claimed that the Pentagon attack never really happened and that there was no aircraft involved.
The Paris publications question the American version of what happened, so do the writings of the American Left represented by Noam Chomsky. Because of lack of credibility on both sides, the boasting tapes left behind by a fleeing Osama bin Laden were ignored. The Urdu press never really accepted that 9/11 happened the way Americans said it had happened although there was some opinion published by it which accepted the American version but was critical of the post-9/11 policy of the United States.
Daily “Nawa-e-Waqt” (7 September 2002) editorialised that America was clearly power-drunk (nashay main choor) and ready to start a crusade against Muslims. All Islamic states should get together to announce action against America, but Arab League had merely adopted a resolution asking America to go to the UN Security Council before attacking Iraq. If the Arabs states stopped exporting oil to America its proud strategy would come to naught.
The advice to the Islamic world to get together and apply the oil embargo is old hat. The Arabs who own the oil are in no position to apply the embargo because they are bankrupt after a fellow-Arab Saddam Hussein attacked them and made them spend all the money they had on the Gulf war. Every body needs money, especially the Arab oil-producers because their oil income forms over 80 percent of their revenue. Arabs are also not the only producers of oil. The countries that suffer are not in the West but in the third world whose economies will collapse if they had to pay the high oil prices that an embargo will bring in its wake.
Ex-ISI chief General and the world’s leading strategic genius (Retd) Hameed Gul told “Nawa-e-Waqt” (10 September 2002) that General Musharraf had told him that the Americans had come for a limited time and that no bases would be given to them, but the opposite had happened. He said the jehad in Kashmir was an insurance policy for Pakistan because the jehad had trapped the Indian army in Kashmir and changed the balance of power. Now that jehad was gone our friendship with China was also at an end and so was our “nuclear technology” (read weapons). He said whoever sided with the attackers of Afghanistan will be judged by history.
The truth is that General Musharraf could still say the Americans are here for a limited time. The typically savage theory of letting the Kashmiris bleed because Pakistan has to keep the Indian army engaged in Kashmir to benefit China is simply not tenable. In economic and social terms, only Pakistan and the Kashmiris have suffered. The Indians are flying high and the world is with them: that is what our military mind has achieved in the past 13 years.
According to daily “Din” (11 September 2002) Pakistani expert analysts had rejected the latest tapes of Osama bin shown on Al Jazeera TV channel claiming responsibility for the destruction of the World Trade Center and other acts of terrorism on 11 September 2001. The Pakistani experts said that the tapes were made with a sophistication that could only be achieved in a modern studio and not in a cave in Afghanistan. They maintained that Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden did not commit the 9/11 act.
There was a time when Al Jazeera was alright, now it is doing the bidding of America! That’s Pakistani analysis for you! Osama bin Laden’s boasting side was never really recognised by Pakistanis. One should remember that he had earlier left behind a tape boasting that he had achieved beyond his expectation in planning the destruction of Twin Towers. The Taliban ex-foreign minister Vakil Mutawaqqil had earlier revealed the involvement of Osama bin Laden in the 9/11 terrorism.
Quoted in “Jang” (12 September 2002), ex-COAS General Aslam Beg said that after having attacked Iraq, America will attack Iran. America also waned to grab oil and gas in Central Asia and Pakistan should not have supported America. Dr Israr Ahmad, chief of Tanzeem Islami, said that America wanted to create another Israel in Central Asia. He said it was a great betrayal to side with America against Islamic mujahideen.
Aslam Beg’s reputation was much damaged when as COAS he predicted that the Americans would be defeated in Iraq in 1990. He is one reason the army general should not be trusted in Pakistan. Iran is preparing to stay neutral if the Americans attack Iraq. About the Central Asian oil and gas, no one “grabs” these days, only the companies of the influential power get the contracts. Pakistan will have to consider the fact that only the American companies are thinking of the Pakistani route for the pipeline that may bifurcate at Multan and then go to Gwader and India, with Pakistan getting a hefty rental. The other routes are not favourable to Pakistan. When the Americans get the contract they will form a consortium of companies that may include the Russians. Pakistan will lose out heavily in terms of its future if the Central Asia pipelines go through Iran, Russia or Turkey. When Ms Bhutto as prime minister quarrelled with Americans over non-American Bridas, some people in her government had secretly funded the Turkmen president to also grant contracts to American Unocal.
Quoted in “Jang” (12 September), famous military genius and former chief of ISI General (Retd) Hameed Gul said on BBC that the attack on Word Trade Center was the doing of the Jews. He said democracy was unsuccessful in Europe because the UK was aligned with America in going against the wishes of British and American peoples.
No one will believe Mr Gul except those who will not look at the facts. It doesn’t suit a Pakistani general to teach democracy to Europe, specially a general who had actively interfered in the electoral politics of Pakistan to produce the results the army liked. President Bush in his address to the nation after 9/11 said that 150 Israeli nationals had died in the Twin Towers. Out of the 3000 killed the majority were Americans, many of them American Jews.