If Pakistan and the US were a married couple, instead of being strategic players, counselors would recommend at least a long trial separation, if not a total divorce. This conclusion appeared after a marathon brain-storming session organised at Washington DC on Pakistan’s future and the US role that lasted for nearly five hours.
One wishes that these think-tanks and specialists also put their ears to the ground instead of merely enjoying a clever argument and a repartee followed by a heavy repast. Along with the events unfolding in other Muslim countries, the murder case against American Raymond Davis has galvanized the Pakistan media and the public against the USA as never before.
To make matters worse, Pakistan’s Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has stated that President Asif Ali Zardari, and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, wanted him to declare that double murder-accused US national Raymond Davis enjoyed diplomatic immunity. Everyone knows that President Zardari is under heavy pressure from Obama administration to release Raymond Davis who shot dead two Pakistanis at Lahore.
“The Punjab CM further said that instead of surrendering to a superpower, it was better to accept an honourable death, and vowed that his government would not compromise on national honour. (Davis has admitted he is a mere ‘consultant’ and not a US diplomat, and hence cannot enjoy diplomatic immunity.)
” The CM said there could not be two standards of justice: one for the rich and other for the poor, and pointed out that the detained US official had killed two Pakistanis while a US consulate vehicle had crushed another innocent citizen while reportedly racing to Davis’ aid.
“In an interview with a TV channel, Chief Minister Shahbaz talked about the pressure on the Punjab Government on the Davis issue, which, he said, could be judged from the recent statement of US President Barack Obama and the visit of US Senator John Kerry to the province.” More here…
As if this was not enough, a leading Pakistani newspaper “The Nation” said that Davis had links to the CIA, quoting sources in the ISI, country’s premier intelligence agency.
Ties between US and Pakistan intelligence agencies have hit an all time low due to the standoff over the arrest of American official Raymond Davis on murder charge compromising critical counter-terrorism operations including drone strikes targeting top terror leaders, reports the Wall Street Journal.
US officials say the Pakistan’s ISI is no longer providing the targeting information and as a result there have been no drone attacks in Pakistan’s turbulent tribal region since January 23.More here…
“Pakistan could be at the crossroads of breaking away from its long partnership with a hegemonic power. With the unfolding of the Raymond Davis case in Lahore, Pakistan finds itself at the edge of taking a fundamental decision about the conduct of its internal and external policies, says Khaled Ahmed in Pakistan’s Friday Times.
“The case also signals a new peak in Pakistan’s anti-Americanism, in both secular-liberal and ideological quarters. Spearheaded by the army through its articulate retired generals, the two types of anti-Americanism can be called Aslambegian (secular) and Hamidgulian (ideological). More here…
Who is Raymond Davis? “While the US insists that Davis is one of their diplomats, and the two men he killed were robbers, Pakistan says that the duo were ISI agents sent to follow him after it was discovered that he had been making contact with al Qaeda, after his cell phone was tracked to the Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan.” More here…
Unlike Pakistan, India capitulated under pressure from the USA in the American spy David Headley case. There was enough circumstantial evidence of Headley’s involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack (in collaboration with the ISI).See my earlier posts ‘Terrorist’ David Headley: An American Spy? here…
If the U.S. Embassy employee accused of murder in the deaths of two Pakistani men is granted diplomatic immunity, Pakistan may explode like Egypt and Tunisia, men on the street say, reports the Los Angeles Times.
All this raises several questions: Who is the real terrorist? Is the US playing dangerous games to perpetuate the war-on-terror for financial and geo-political reasons? Finally, who was really responsible for the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in the USA?
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.