Sadiq Saleem: What is behind the ‘Ghairat’ debate?

By Sadiq Saleem
This article appeared in The News on October 14, 2009

Every few years Pakistanis go through angry phases of self-righteous indignation over the country’s dependence on foreign aid. The ‘Ghairat’ (national honour) lobby, led by Islamist political parties, retired generals and the newly empowered right wing conspiracy theorists serving as television anchors have worked up the nation once again in the “honour is more important than aid” slogan mongering.

Now that the controversy relating to the Kerry-Lugar Bill is de-escalating, it is time to understand the economic and security compulsions that have made us a dependent nation. Since 1947, when soon after independence the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah himself appealed for US aid, each one of Pakistan’s budgets has depended on external flows mainly because our own resources are limited and over-stretched.

Gul Bukhari: The Sovereignty Hysteria

By Gul Bukhari
This article appeared in Dawn on October 10, 2009

Critics of the Kerry-Lugar bill must answer a humiliating question: the preservation of whose sovereignty are they referring to? Is it of a country that has accepted drone attacks in the tribal areas? The hysterical reaction to the Kerry-Lugar bill by formerly rational TV anchors, analysts and politicians is painful to watch. True, one does not expect any better from those who only oppose and criticise for the sake of doing so, but to hear saner voices in the mad din is distressing.

In Shakespeare’s words,

[They] have no spur

To prick the sides of [their] intent, but only

Vaulting [patriotism] ambition, which o’erleaps itself,

And falls on th’other…

Irfan Hussain: Hype and Hysteria over Nothing

By Irfan Hussain
This article appeared in Dawn on October 10, 2009

Surely the Pakistani opponents of the Kerry-Lugar bill are not pretending that we are innocent on all counts? Or has the state of denial penetrated so deeply into their collective psyche that they have erased all memory of the recent past?

Thanks to the wonders of satellite technology and cable TV, I am able to watch Pakistani news channels here in the UK. However, this is not entirely an unmixed blessing. More often than not, I find myself mesmerised by the sheer inanity of the discussions on my TV screen.

Philly Inquirer: US Must Strengthen Relations with Pak

By Trudy Rubin
This article appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on October 4, 2009

The debate over Afghan strategy – the Af in our AfPak policy – has
overshadowed an equally daunting challenge: Can we figure out how to
improve relations with Pakistan?

Pakistan’s civilian government and army finally struck back against
the Taliban in April, after the militants threatened the capital; the
Pakistani public and press backed this offensive. But public opinion
is negative about any cooperation with the United States against the
jihadis; the mistrust of our country is profound.

Irfan Hussain: Distortions and Delusions

By Irfan Hussain
This article appeared in Dawn on October 3, 2009

National Geographic aired a programme about the 9/11 conspiracies the
other evening. While it did not cover any new ground, it did
painstakingly demolish many of the idiotic theories that have been
doing the rounds for the last eight years.

What struck me most about the TV documentary was the ease with which a
rumour can be spread compared with the time and expertise it takes to
expose it as a lie. Literally millions continue to believe that the
Twin Towers were actually brought down by thousands of explosive
charges planted inside the building and not by the airliners that
crashed into them. It took a crew of experts who brought down a
building to demonstrate how ridiculous the conspiracy theory really
is.