Afghanistan, Pakistan and rebuilding the US Empire

A. Khan has just returned to Ireland from the Swat Valley region of Pakistan. Here he exposes the simplistic myths that the region is in the grip of ‘dangerous extremists’ like the Taliban. Rather, the religious movements, who were previously funded by the CIA and the West, gain support because of deep poverty and state corruption.

Pakistan, since its independence has always been in some kind of crisis. The lack of vision of its leaders and mounting corruption in all its institutions have resulted in a country in complete chaos.

But the current insurgency and militancy is fueled by a widening gap between rich and poor. Many poor people are used by the militants and given false hope of revenge on the rich.

The income gap between the different classes of society is beyond comprehension and without a socialist revolution the survival of Pakistan as sovereign country is not foreseeable.

Decades of injustice and farcical strategies of supporting extremists are now rebounding on the ruling class. 

A few thousand guerrilla Taliban cannot reach and control the country’s nuclear warheads, but they can destabilize the state with ease and comfor. 

The important aspect to note is that the majority of people living in the North West Frontier (the troubled province) are liberal and retain some independence from the religious extremists.

This is evident from the 2007 election, where despite fear of the Taliban, people went to polling stations and elected a highly liberal nationalist party. This party was viewed as infidels in the Cold War era just because of its red flag and nationalist approach.

The media, including the Pakistani state propaganda machines, are also involved in portraying a false picture of the area as barbarians and uncivilized people so that the state can get more funding from the EU and US.

However, the truth is very different. The NWF has fought invading armies from Alexander the Great to the British Empire, and won. This history of resistance and courage may portray them as warriors but the fact is that they never invaded any other country or state.

It is because of their geo-strategic location that they were always invaded and attacked. Despite continuous conflicts and battles, they nourish their art and culture and they have produced some great musicians, sportsmen, philosophers and poets.

A region scarred by Imperialism

The Independence movement in British India reached its peak during the Second World War, when the British empire was engaged in Europe for its own territorial survival. In 1947, India was divided into two separate nations, Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, power was handed over to aristocrats and landlords who were loyal to the British Empire before independence.

Common people laid down their lives for freedom but when it came to the question of who would rule the country, the elite classes, with the cooperation of the army, formed Pakistan’s first parliament.

Unfortunately, the rule of landlords and army has never changed in principal since independence. Only the faces have changed from one political party to another, and from father to son. Hereditary politics with army marshal law is a curse which this beautiful and resourceful country has now endured for more than six decades.

The only time Pakistan saw a true socialist movement was in 1967, when labor unions and rural workers united and shut the whole country down.

This wave of militancy was capitalized on by Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who formed the Pakistan Peoples Party. But a decade later when he was hanged by Marshall Law administrator, Mr. Zia Ul Haq, the whole party changed its politics 180 degrees and another revolution was betrayed.

The rulers of Pakistan always favored American policy. The Pakistan army was immensely funded by the US to curb any leftist movement and any uprising against the ruling class of Pakistan. Thousands of people sacrificed their lives for socialist movements – many disappeared, were exiled, or extra-judicially murdered. Poets and literary Marxists were sent behind bars for decades.

In the 1960s, Pakistan became a member of various regional treaties against Soviet Russia, sending a clear message that the British empire was now succeeded by a new American imperialism.

The US role in creating religious extremism

During the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s, the Pakistani army in collaboration with the CIA, did everything possible to turn the Afghan people against the USSR occupation, including transforming the whole region into a safe haven for fundamentalists. 

Drugs mafias and war lords were given free hand to recruit young people and control the region with their own laws. In Peshawar, a famous city near the Afghan border, the US funded a university apparently for agriculture research, but was actually used to propagate extremists and fundamentalism. 

Religion was used to distort common people’s minds by preaching that people who believe in the Bible (such as those in the US) are your friends and they are here to support you against infidels (i.e. the Communists). This strategy worked for a time, until the withdrawal of Russia from Afghanistan, but had deep repercussions on Pashton society (people living in North West of Pakistan). Local militias were only trained to fight and barbaric fundamentalist clan alliances and power structures were nurtured with US and Saudi Arabian support.

The rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 1990s was a post-Afghan war phenomena, which triggered the extremist movement on the other side of border in Pakistan.

Swat Valley: Corruption fuels support for religious resistance

The Swat valley is an example of where the corrupt government machinery was brought to its knees by few thousand organized fighters.

Far from being a hotbed of extremism, Swat is famous as a tourist destination in Pakistan.

Swat valley merged into Pakistan in 1971 to avail of the benefits of a republic but they soon regretted this decision as the introduction of a pro-capitalist society totally changed their livelihood.

They were shocked and shattered by the level of corruption in the judicial and political system in Pakistan.

A steady fundamentalist resistance started in that region because law and order agencies were only interested in protecting the elite.

Resistance to this state violence and corruption was organized by religious groups whose politics are extremely right wing.

The people of Swat are now caught in the cross fire of the cruelty of an elite class and the brutality of foreign and local extremists.

The situation in semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) is no different and lack of interests by Pakistani government in that region has resulted in an underdeveloped society where many people are still illiterate and health facilities are scarce.

For six decades the Pakistani government never gave FATA people their rights and was not interested in the development of the area.

FATA is still ruled under the atrocious Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) law, under which if a person commits a crime, the political agent (president of that area, a government official) can intern the whole family of the suspect behind bars until that person is released.

These kinds of laws are a disgrace to human beings in the 21st century. The Pakistani government is very proud of its army and nuclear weapons but its power to rule rests on horrendous laws.

Baluchistan: An oppressed minority

Baluchistan, another province of Pakistan, is a rich province with natural resources and a population of only 7 million (Pakistan's population is 170 million).

Some of its natural resources include Oil, Natural Gas, Gold, Uranium, Coal, and Iron Ore. The coast of Gawader is on the Indian Ocean. Many people believe the reason the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan was to reach warm waters through this port.

This province is even poorer than Swat valley and has a sad history of deprivation. The total budget of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, a small city in the centre of Pakistan, is more than this whole province receives.

Baluchistan’s development is far behind any other province of Pakistan. Since independence in 1947, the people of Baluchistan peacefully protested their discrimination in the corridors of power but were never given a hearing. 

An uprising in 1971 was suppressed by the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army and many innocent people were sent to jail accused of involvement in the uprising.

The corrupt rulers of the province have never supported autonomy, against the wishes of the majority.

The Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) is now fighting the Pakistan army with more force and power and government writ is challenged everywhere. All websites and other communications of the BLA are banned and association with BLA is considered treason.

The situation is now changing: big players on the world stage are taking more interest. China has built a major port in Gawader (Pakistan awarded the development of Gawader port contract to China in 2005, which was seen by the US as a huge blow but they couldn’t do anything because of their dependence on Pakistan in Afghanistan).

This was the second setback to the US in the Indian Ocean region, as Sri Lanka had already given its sea port to China for development. Regional forces are worried. Dubai and Oman are scared of Gawader because they might lose business if this port is launched fully. 

This is the real reason why Obama, the US and the EU want to wage their brutal war in the region. They want to make sure their empire remains top dog.

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Afghanistan: Pull the troops out now

By Marnie Holborow

In Europe and the US, more people are asking why there are troops in Afghanistan (and Pakistan).  It costs Britain's £4.5bn a year. It will cost the US $2.4 trillion, or nearly $8,000 per person, over the next decade. Amid unemployment and cutbacks, these figures are an obscenity.

Within Afghanistan, support for the foreign troops is dwindling. Only 32% - down from 68% in 2005 – support the way the US is conducting the war.

SURGE

The number of civilian deaths vary from 6,300 to 23,600.  On just one day in May this year, U.S. bombs killed 140 people. And there have been over 1100 coalition soldiers killed. More British soldiers have now been killed in Afghanistan than in Iraq.

Despite this, Western forces continue to support the invasion and occupation. By the end of the year, some 30,000 American soldiers will be added to the 32,000 already there. The White House also wants to give Pakistan nearly $1.5 billion in ‘aid’, plus $400 million in fresh military assistance.

Europe is also deeply involved. It is the first operation outside Europe carried out by a newly-expanded NATO.  International Security Assistance Force troops working under NATO command has 61,000 personnel from 42 different countries, including Ireland. Ireland is offering its services, ominously, for “counter-intelligence” activities.

The effects of the occupation, bombing civilians and villages, have swelled support for the Taliban. The Talliban now is stronger than at any time since the invasion.

WOMEN SUFFER

One of the main reasons given to combat the Taliban is their attacks on women’s rights. Yet the UN says that conditions for women are little better now than under the Taliban.

Rangina Hamidi, a women's rights and peace activist in Kandahar said the ongoing conflict was the main cause of the rise in violence against women in the public and private spheres.

TROOPS OUT

NATO generals warn that the conflict will worsen this year. Resistance has driven the foreign occupiers out – first the West and then the Russians. Those who resist the invasion today – and the Taliban includes many who just want the occupation to end - have history on their side.

Ireland should offer no support to the NATO led troops. At home, we will see our politicians line up to force us to accept the Lisbon Treaty including its military provisions which draw us ever closer to NATO-EU cooperation. The bloody war in Afghanistan is what this kind of support means and we should have no truck with it.