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I was quite amazed by Khawaja Umer Farooq’s claim, (Drone attacks in Pakistan, Oct. 7), that despite “safety concerns”, Imran Khan is proceeding with long march into Waziristan to protest against the US drone attacks. Although the march was stopped by the authorities before proceeding to Waziristan, it raised a number of questions.
“Safety concerns” from whom — from Pakistan Army, from US drones or Taleban themselves? It’s obvious, neither Pakistan Army nor the US drones were going to attack the procession, then the only party who might prove hostile was Taleban.
Therefore, Imran Khan was, in fact, protesting against those who have established their announced/perceived rule in the tribal areas, who are involved in cross-border attacks, which are running suicide bombers production factories churning out zombies to attack mosques, markets, schools and shrines in Pakistan.
Imran Khan’s protest was nothing but a political gimmick. It is to draw benefits from the strategy religious parties and their right-wing media mongers have worked out to fool the public that Talebanare waging a holy war against infidels. Therefore, their excesses could be ignored.
It is wrong to presume that Taleban are the products of drones; in fact it’s the other way round. IfTaleban cease their activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, kick out all the foreign militants from Pakistani soil, drone attacks will automatically stop as they will no longer be required. If 2,000 people have been killed in drone attacks (including several hundred top militants) in the last 10 years, then what about the 40,000 civilians and military personnel bombed by the Taleban? Is there any comparison between the two. Who will rally in favor of safeguarding the civilians and military personnel?
If Imran Khan is so much interested in staging long marches, he should do it for some noble cause: To revive the polio eradication campaign in tribal areas, in Pashtun localities of Karachi and Pashtun majority districts of Balochistan.
At the end, I would like to know Khawaja’s views on how the terrorists who include Abu Laith Al Libi, Abu Sulayman Al Jazairi, Ibn-e-Amin, Tahir Yuldashev, BaithUllah Mahsud, Qari Mohammed Zafar, Badr Mansoor and many others, could have been eliminated other than using drone technology. If he has an alternative solution, he should share it with us because the whole world is eagerly waiting for an alternate to get out of this mess.
Masood Khan, Jubai
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