The Grand Narrative

posted by Mustufa Sufi |

August 25, 2013
There are things we observe but we either dont want to admit them or we dont know what they are. We all hear big terms such as
the establishment, status quo, civil-military bureaucracy & foreign plots to exploit Pakistan. These things have penetrated in our minds and
daily debates so much that we forget the hidden, bigger parts of it. Translating it to generalities, these talks are none other than the ones which
include keywords such as RAW, India, Saudia, Israel and America. I am not denying any possibility that there might be anything linked to an
event happening anywhere, just the general things we are taught.
When I was reading my Olevels history book, I observed two things.
i-) It was not for sale in India
ii-) Bande Mataram means kick all the Muslims out of India
Lets just leave India for now and observe Pakistan. Shias are infidels and should be killed, Ahmedis are worse, the person who found Pakistan is
sometimes referred to as Kafir-e-Azam, raising voice for people dying in Syria and Egypt but no word on the people being slaughtered here,
demanding an American citizen back from America (this is really absurd when people dont know that Aafia Siddiqui is an American citizen and
on these basis was trialed in American courts) and many other basic myths we have blind faith on. The whole point ends up on a few questions. Is
there a grand narrative? Is it driven naturally or is it fed? If there is no grand narrative then is there a national narrative? The answers lie in
reflection and only reflection. Lets start with a few basic hints for those who are new to these strange terms. What will the police do if all the
thieves are dead? It will simply go jobless, because why would you need the protectors when you dont have that someone you need the
protection from? That explains why we supposedly have very tough ties with India. There is a recent wave of anti-India sort of movement on the
media where media hides that unfortunately, it was Pakistan who made the first step, referring to the beheading of the Indian soldier by the
Pakistanis first. I am not supporting India in any terms what so ever, but I am just pointing towards the mistakes made by us in not understanding
what time has brought with itself. Why was Pakistan made? People can argue on the whats and whys, but the answer concludes to one, i.e. The
Two Nation Theory (the starting of the narrative from a wide perspective) which, if was fully correct, then why do we have a fully segregated
religious population? We were told that our culture was different from that of Indias but we were not told why and how, although most of the
things we do is borrowed from Indians. Then we have all the Hindu conspiracies against Muslims but, if we roll it straight forward to 1947 and
Pakistans independence, do we know who killed all the people in the trains? Why did they do so, when the migrants were already deprived of
anything worth stealing? There is no formal research on this and why is that so, we dont know yet.
This country needs more tolerant and admitting people.
Pakistans dynamics today are simple but hidden to the ordinary mind, which is not a good symptom for a country that needs serious
advancements. Things should always start with questioning. Why are there any Taliban apologists when everyone agrees that Taliban is evil?
What is the real issue with F.A.T.A. ? Why is the worlds one of the most successful and highly trained military submitting in front of a few
terrorists? Again, just to make sure this doesnt go directly against the whole military, it needs to be mentioned that no harm is intended to the
security forces as such, but yes, as tax payers, we can question them. We can question them on what is what and why is that so. One reason of
bringing the military here is to give a new perspective to the people, that is it really the politicians that deserve all the blaming? Is it really their
corruption which brought you to your fate? Right now when Nawaz Sharif and Manmohan Singh are trying to get to good terms, Why are cross
border firings occurring? Question is the key.
The establishment wants the narrative to be that way. They want people to blame every other for things that sometimes they themselves are
responsible for. The establishment wants people to think RAW is planning terrorist attacks on Shia mosques and Christians in Pakistan. The
establishment wants people to have some sympathy for the Taliban. The establishment wants the Mullahs here to have some power in their hands
so that they may manipulate masses when needed and as needed. We need to ask some more questions from ourselves, such as what is the
identity of a Pakistani individual? What is Pakistans national culture? We need more authors like Sibt-e-Hasan, Rais Amrohvi & Manto.
- See more at: http://lubpak.com/archives/282095#sthash.zsmOKhst.dpuf

Taliban, APC, and the State of Pakistan

The recent events in Pakistan have shown that the state of Pakistan is entering a new phase which may be called the Takfiri State
of Islam. You may replace Islam by Islamism or Islamofascism, but it will be a lexical choice. You may even say, Not yet, but
it will be an academic exercise. And this should be surprise no. The intimations of Takfiri immortality have been there since the
American-planned, Saudi-financed, and ISI-executed jihad began in the early 1980s. Some would date it much earlier, which is not
unreasonable. But if you look at what is happening now, the Afghanistan jihad was the beginning of the end of Pakistan as a
modern state.
Why have we at LUBP arrived at such a drastic conclusion?
Had the darkness not been so visible and silence so ear-splitting, we would have not made such a heart-breaking enunciation. But
the APC document and its unqualified support by Pakistans ruling elites make a very explicit statement. Yes; it is this very APC
document signed by Pakistans political parties and the Army, and actively and tacitly supported by the media and the judiciary,
respectively, which marks a watershed unprecedented in modern history: A state has allowed itself to liquidate itself into a fascist
arrangement in which law and constitution will based on the whims of not a majority, but a powerful minority which rules through
extreme violence.
A lot has been written about the APC declaration about holding a dialogue with the Taliban, and there is no need to recapture it in
detail. Just a comment will suffice: An overwhelming majority of articles, columns, editorial, etc., have endorsed it; the only
dissenting few voices found their way into English language publications. Period. Some of the significant pro-Taliban voices have
ratiocinated thus:
1. This war has no front and no rear [Which means the Taliban are everywhere and cannot be isolated.].
2. In a plethora of narratives, the realities have got lost even for educated people.
3. Conflicts ultimately are settled or ended through talking.
4. The Taliban will be our asset once the Americans have left Afghanistan.
This is pure balderdash. We all know who the Taliban are and where they live. The Taliban are themselves not queasy about their
identity and whereabouts. Everyone in Karachi knows what the no-go areas are where the Taliban have imposed Shariah. Everyone
knows where the likes of Mullah Ludhianvi, Aurenzeb Farooqi, Hafiz Saeed, Munawar Hassan, and Sami ul Haq live and what
venom they spawn. Everyone knows which mosques and madrassas, protected by the police and intelligence operatives, proudly
promote murderous ideologies. Here no realities are lost. Our neighbours like India and Sri Lanka wiped out Sikh and Tamil
terrorists without negotiating with them. China is not willing to hear a word of even conciliation from the Uyghur militants. And Iran
has decimated the Pakistan-based Jandullah without giving it any legitimacy. The Americans are not going to give the Taliban a free
hand even if they leave.
A very basic principle of political science is that a state is not just a sovereign entity, it is indeed the only sovereign entity to the
extent that no other institution can challenge its authority and/or legitimacy. There is no entity or institution which can speak to the
state on the basis of parity. The state is supreme; the rest are details. But the APC declaration of peace is not based even on a
State of Pakistan-Taliban parity. Take a look at what it says:
Thousands of precious lives of innocent men, women and children and defence and security personnel have been lost in the war,
the illegal and immoral drone attacks and the blow-back from actions of NATO/ISAF forces in Afghanistan. There has also been
colossal damages to social and physical infrastructure and huge consequential financial losses and adverse effects on our
economy. . . .
We have noted with concern the continued use of drone attacks by United States of America in spite of clear and unambiguous
protests by the democratically elected Government of Pakistan. We are unanimous that the use of drones is not only a continued
violation of our territorial integrity but also detrimental to our resolve and efforts of eliminating extremism and terrorism from our
country. . . .
We therefore, repose full confidence in efforts of the Prime Minister in this behalf and call upon the Federal Government to initiate
the dialogue with all stakeholders forthwith and for this purpose, authorise it to take all necessary steps as it may deem fit, including
development of an appropriate mechanism and identification of interlocutors.

Now the illegal and immoral drone attacks and the blow-back is there, but who killed thousands of Pakistanis? What about the
illegality and immorality of the killing of thousands of Shias by the Deobandi Takfiris aka Taliban/ASWJ-LeJ? What about the forced
kidnapping, conversion, and rape of Hindu girls? What about the burning down of Christian neighbourhood by the Takfiri-led mobs?
The government is one stakeholder. But who is the other stakeholder on the other side? Is terrorism let loose on the people of
Pakistan is tantamount to a business or academic venture where stakeholders come together to fix things and iron out differences?
The Takfiri war unleashed on non-Deobandi Pakistanis who make up over 90 percent of the population of the country is a bloody
game on the part of the Takfiris, but for those who are killed regularly and routinely, it is a trauma of unfathomable and endless pain
and sorrow. The APC document does not seem to be even a collaborative work with the Taliban; it seems to be one dictated by the
latter.
The Nawaz Sharif-initiated and Army-sanctioned APC offer of dialogue to the Taliban is no more than a Document of Disgrace. It
lays down no terms of reference, no procedure, and conditionality vis--vis the Taliban. On the contrary, the Taliban will not talk until
their brethren are released from jail. Thus mullah Baradr has been freed whose hands are soaked in innocent blood. It was Shahbaz
Sharif who called the Taliban Our Brothers and true to his claim, the PML-N has been the greatest champion of these Brothers
because They are our people. This is why, it is no surprise that the new peacemaker on the street and the darling of the talk shows
is no other than Javed Paracha who has openly supported the Shia genocide. He is a PML-N leader, its former MNA, and a Nawaz
Sharif confidante. Paracha has blurred the line between the Taliban and the Rest.
Even after the APC offer, the Taliban have continued to kill people including army officers and have proudly owned the killings and
promised to kill more. But be it Nawaz Sharif or General Kiyani, the word Taliban is absent from their lips even when they vaguely
show displeasure over someone killing someone somewhere in Pakistan.
Why is it so?
The answer is: From Nawaz Sharif to General Kiyani to media dons to the higher judiciary, they are all Taliban at heart. Perhaps
they think that it the likes of the Shias, Christians, Hindus, and Sufi Muslims who will continue to be cut down, and their own scions
and interests will be spared. Besides, their assets and families are based abroad, or can be shifted abroad when and if the going
gets though. Who can forget a jubilant Kalsoom Nawaz when the House of Saud secured a reprieve for the Sharif family? Within
minutes of the reprieve, she was ready with hundreds of suitcases, servants, cooks, flunkeys, and family members as she
announced to the media, Were going to Saudi Arabia!
We are disappointed and sad. May be we are helpless. But we are not hopeless. It is legal and moral responsibility of all non-Takfiri
Pakistanis to do all they can to stand up against the Takfiristanization of their country. At this stage, winning or losing do not matter.
The story of the ruling elites of Pakistan with reference to the Taliban is something like We came, we saw, we surrendered, and
then we joined. But ours has to be We stood up and fought. Let it be a matter of future who won or lost.