Pakistan’s democratically-elected government, despite the dire predictions/propaganda in the western world, is functioning no better or worse than under the military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s regime. However, a democratically-elected government has a moral and popular platform to wage a war on terror.
“The Election Commission on Friday set September 6 as the date lawmakers will elect a new president, after the resignation earlier this week of President Pervez Musharraf,” reports NYT.
“The senior party in Pakistan’s governing coalition on Friday nominated Asif Ali Zardari, widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as its candidate in elections for president. The announcement of the election date came a day after twin suicide attacks outside the country’s biggest weapons factory complex, in Wah, 20 miles north of the capital, Islamabad.”
(What does the powerful coalition leader Nawaz Sharif think about Zardari’s nomination? See here…)
No one denies that the going is tough. The Australian has an interesting story under the heading “Pakistan Turns Table On Militants”. “He has one of the world’s most dangerous jobs — turning back the seemingly unstoppable tide of al-Qa’ida and Taliban-linked jihadi militancy sweeping across nuclear-armed Pakistan.
“And Rehman Malik (photo above), as we talk in his Islamabad office, makes it clear that the days of pussyfooting in Pakistan’s fight against the militants are over. ‘Look, we’ve got two choices,’ says Malik, formerly one of Benazir Bhutto’s closest aides and now Pakistan’s security supremo who heads the Interior Ministry.
” ‘Either we can hand this country over to the Taliban, or we can fight. I am going to fight’. Under Malik, Pakistan’s policy has been transformed from one of retreat to pursuit of al-Qa’ida and the Taliban. But his tough rhetoric has also him a target of Islamic militants.
“The suave, 57-year-old one-time boss of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, the equivalent of the Australian Federal Police, is an increasingly controversial figure as he takes Pakistan’s war into areas it has previously avoided.
“In the few short weeks since Malik and (prime minister) Gilani returned from the White House, Pakistan’s much-vaunted role in the war against terrorism has been transformed. For the first time in many months, the country is on the offensive, forcefully seeking to reassert the Government’s writ while also pursuing dialogue with the militants and a path to peace.
“Suddenly and with little fanfare, Islamabad’s security forces are aggressively on the offensive in key areas where for months, if not years, the Government had virtually given up, leaving the militants to set up Sharia courts.” More here…
And here are more juicy bits about Rehman Malik in Wikipedia: “Benazir Bhutto appointed Rehman Malik as chief of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which then launched a secret war against the Taliban supporters in Pakistan, which amounted to a direct attack on the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“The Pakistani military was equally dismayed by reports of FIA contacts with the Israeli secret service, the Mossad, which had been cooperating with Indian secret service RAW to investigate Taliban supporters…On 5 November 1996 Ghulam Asghar, head of FIA, and Rehman Malik, the Additional Director General FIA, were arrested. More here.
Another important development is that General David Petraeus would soon take over as head of U.S. Central Command, the army command that includes Pakistan (as well as the Middle East). Can he pull off another miracle, helping Pakistan’s General Ashfaq Kayani to train Pakistani units to fight jihadis? More here…
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.