Syria shows the way to Pakistan: The News

Saturday, November 08, 2008 By Rahimullah Yusufzai

The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar The way the Syrian government and people reacted to a recent US military raid on a village in Syria near the Iraqi border forced one to reflect on the Pakistani reaction to similar American incursions into its territory. Obviously, the Syrians were angry and protests broke out in Damascus and elsewhere in the country. But a lot more instructive was the strong reaction of President Bashar al-Assad's government, which described the killing of eight Syrians in the attack as a "cold-blooded war crime", demanded an apology and warned of consequences. In comparison, governments in Pakistan whether run by the soldiers or civilians are forever trying to find some justification for such cross-border raids. This is useful to escape the blame for being unable to protect citizens from raids by other powers and defend the country's borders despite spending so much on the armed forces. The reaction by Pakistani governments is belated and mild and no real effort is made to provide facts and figures to the people about the human and material losses resulting from the US ground and missile strikes. The government of President General Pervez Musharraf never demanded an apology from the US for its numerous attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas near the Afghan border and it even failed to ask for monetary compensation for the families of those killed and wounded in the frequent American assaults. The democratically elected government headed by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has adopted the same policy even though it was expected to forcefully plead Pakistan's case in keeping with the aspirations of the nation. In fact, the first major ground offensive by helicopter-borne US forces took place on Pakistan's soil in South Waziristan during the PPP-led government's rule in early September but its reaction was meek and rhetorical, packing a lot of hot air and signifying nothing. The situation has come to such a pass that now the US is 'requested' not to launch missile strikes in Pakistani territory and countries ranging from the United Kingdom to Turkey is asked to intercede on Islamabad's behalf for convincing the US to respect Pakistan's sovereignty. Though it is true that states such as Pakistan with weak economy and weaker political will cannot hope to safeguard their sovereignty from arrogant superpowers such as the US, most Pakistanis still expect their rulers and armies to make a real effort toward this end instead of making hollow claims and raising false hopes. With such low credibility, the ruling elite cannot hoodwink the people, who shouldn't be taken for granted as they are able to fully grasp the situation and arrive at intelligent decisions whenever granted an opportunity. For more on this article, please click on the following link: Syria shows the way to Pakistan: The News