#Pakistan Army Chief

[risingpakistan]

کیا مشکل وقت اور ڈیفالٹ کا خطرہ ختم؟

آرمی چیف جنرل سید عاصم منیر نے ملک کی 10 سرکردہ کاروباری شخصیات سے ملاقات کی اور وزیر خزانہ اسحاق ڈار کی موجودگی میں انہیں یقین دہانی کرائی کہ پاکستان مشکل معاشی حالات سے کامیابی سے باہرنکل آئے گا، ڈیفالٹ کا خطرہ ٹل چکا ہے، ملک ترقی کرے گا اور ہم ایک خوشحال قوم بن کر ابھریں گے۔ ملاقات کے حوالے سے باضابطہ طور پر کوئی بیان سامنے نہیں آیا لیکن ذرائع کا کہنا ہے کہ آرمی چیف پوری ملاقات کے دوران پُرامید نظر آئے اور اس اعتماد کا اظہار کیا کہ موجودہ معاشی مشکلات پر قابو پا لیا جائے گا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ پُرعزم اور پراعتماد رہیں اور قوم پر مشکلات آتی ہیں اور ہمیں مشکل حالات کا سامنا ہے، بدتر حالات کو ہم پیچھے چھوڑ چکے ہیں اور ہم قائم و دائم رہیں گے۔ جنرل عاصم نے اسلامی تعلیمات کا حوالہ دیا اور شرکاء کو یقین دہانی کرائی کہ پاکستان موجودہ امتحان میں کامیاب ہو جائے گا۔ ملاقات میں شامل ایک شخص نے نام ظاہر نہ کرنے کی شرط پر کہا کہ کاروباری افراد نے آرمی چیف سے ملاقات کی درخواست کی تھی۔ آرمی چیف نے وزیرِ خزانہ کو سیشن میں شرکت کیلئے مدعو کیا تھا۔ کاروباری افراد نے اس ملاقات کو انتہائی کامیاب قرار دیا۔ 

آرمی چیف اور وزیر خزانہ نے کاروباری افراد کو بتایا کہ آئی ایم ایف کی تمام پیشگی شرائط کو پورا کر دیا گیا ہے اور چند روز میں معاہدہ ہو جائے گا۔ انہوں نے بتایا کہ آئی ایم ایف نے یہ بھی کہا ہے کہ معیشت میں بہتری لانے کیلئے دوست ممالک سے کئے جانے والے معاہدوں کو بھی دستاویزی شکل دی جائے۔ انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا کہ دوست ممالک نے بھی وعدے کئےہیں کہ وہ زراعت، کان کنی اور آئی ٹی کے شعبوں میں سرمایہ کاری کریں گے۔ حکومت کو توقع ہے کہ ان ممالک سے پیشگی سرمایہ (ایڈوانس ایکوئٹی) ملے گا۔ یہ کہا گیا کہ سول اور ملٹری قیادت نے مل کر دوست ممالک کو اس سرمایہ کاری کیلئے قائل کیا ہے۔ آرمی چیف سے کاروباری افراد نے سوال کیا کہ اسٹیبلشمنٹ سیاست دانوں کو ایک جگہ بٹھانے کیلئے کوشش کیوں نہیں کر رہی تاکہ ملک کو درپیش سنگین چیلنجز کا مقابلہ کیا جا سکے، قوم توقع کرتی ہے کہ فوج معاشرے میں مزید افرا تفری اور تفریق کی اجازت نہ دے۔ 

آرمی چیف سے ملاقات کیلئے آئے ان 10 کاروباری افراد میں سے پانچ کا تعلق کراچی جب کہ پانچ کا لاہور سے تھا۔ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ آئی ایم ایف کے 1.2 ارب ڈالر سے ڈیفالٹ کا خطرہ کیسے ٹلے گا، صرف وقتی ریلیف ملے گا جس کی تائید سابق وزیر خزانہ مفتاح اسماعیل نے اپنے حالیہ انٹرویو میں بھی کی ہے۔ اس وقت ملک میں پیٹرول اور ڈیزل کے ذخائر کے حوالے سے پیٹرولیم ڈویژن نے کہا ہے کہ ملک میں اوسطاً 21 دن کے پیٹرول کا ذخیرہ موجود ہے، ملک میں 4 لاکھ 17 ہزار میٹرک ٹن پیٹرول اور ڈیزل کا 5 لاکھ ٹن سے زائد کا اسٹاک ہے۔ دوسری جانب اوگرا کا کہنا ہے کہ ملک میں فیول سپلائی چین میں خلل یا رکاوٹ کی اطلاعات درست نہیں۔ یہ بہت اچھا ہے کہ ہمارے آرمی چیف جنرل عاصم منیر نے خود اہم کاروباری افراد سے ملاقات کی لیکن صرف وزیر خزانہ کو بٹھا کر تسلی دینے سے عملی طور پر کیا فائدہ ہو گا، جب تک ٹھوس اقدامات نہ کئے جائیں؟ اس وقت ٹیکسٹائل ملیں، گاڑیاں بنانے والی کمپنیاں بند، ادویات فروش، سریا اور سیمنٹ غائب ہونے جا رہا ہے، ملک میں اگرچہ سبزیوں کی پیداوار بہت ہے مگر کہاں ایکسپورٹ ہو رہی ہیں، یہ بھی پتہ نہیں لگ رہا۔ پیٹرول کے ریٹ آئے دن بڑھ رہے ہیں ۔ 

ڈالر مارکیٹ سے غائب ہے، یہ جو اتنے بحران ہیں ان پر پاکستان عملی طور پر کیسے قابو پائے گا ؟ سیاستدان صرف نعرے لگا رہے ہیں مگر معیشت کیلئے آپس میں مل بیٹھنے پر کوئی تیار نہیں ہے اور نہ ہی ساتھ بیٹھ کرالیکشن کی تاریخ کا تعین کرنے پر تیار ہے، عوام مشکلات میں گھرے ہوئے ہیں جن میں معاشی بدحالی ، بیروزگاری اور ڈاکہ زنی نمایاں ہیں، یہ سب قابل توجہ ہیں۔ پی ٹی آئی کے سینیٹر محسن عزیز نے کہا ہے کہ ہماری حکومت نے اسٹیٹ بینک کو خودمختاری دی مگر اس نے اس کا استعمال نہیں کیا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ بینکوں سے قرض حکومت لیتی ہے، آج ملک میں 41 فیصد افراطِ زر ہے جو 1971 کی جنگ کے وقت بھی نہیں تھی اسٹیٹ بینک کے گورنر نے کہا ہے کہ معیشت کو اس وقت کئی بیرونی اور اندرونی چیلنجز کا سامنا ہے، یوکرین جنگ کے باعث اشیا کی قیمتوں میں اضافہ ہوا جس سے پاکستان میں بھی مہنگائی ہوئی، اس سال کرنٹ اکائونٹ خسارہ 10 ارب ڈالر رہنے کا تخمینہ تھا۔ گورنر اسٹیٹ بینک کا کہنا ہے کہ حکومت اور اسٹیٹ بینک کے پالیسی اقدامات کی وجہ سے کرنٹ اکائونٹ خسارہ اس وقت کافی کم ہے، رواں مالی سال کے اختتام تک کرنٹ اکائونٹ خسارہ 7 ارب ڈالر تک رہے گا۔ 

انہوں نے کہا کہ گزشتہ مالی سال امپورٹ بل 9.7 ارب ڈالر تھا، رواں مالی سال کے پہلے7 ماہ میں امپورٹ بل 11.3 ارب ڈالر رہا ہے، 2 ماہ میں 60 کروڑ ڈالر کا خوردنی تیل امپورٹ کیا گیا۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ آئی ایم ایف معاہدے کے بعد ڈالر انفلو بہتر ہونے سے فارن ریزرو زمیں بہتری آئے گی، آئندہ ہفتے کے اختتام تک اسٹیٹ بینک کے ذخائر 4.3 ارب ڈالر ہوں گے، رواں سال مہنگائی کی شرح 26.5 فیصد تک رہنے کا تخمینہ ہے۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ رواں سال ترسیلات زر میں 2 ارب ڈالر کی کمی آئی ہے، ترسیلات زر 18 ارب ڈالر سے کم ہو کر 16 ارب ڈالر ہو گئی ہیں۔

خلیل احمد نینی تا ل والا

بشکریہ روزنامہ جنگ

[newsreadersin]

Javed Bajwa exposed Pakistan, pain spilled over 1971 war defeat

Javed Bajwa exposed Pakistan, pain spilled over 1971 war defeat

Suspense on who will be the new army chief in Pakistan is now cleared. General Asim Munir will be the new Army Chief of Pakistan in place of General Qamar Javed Bajwa. By the way in Pakistan army chief Bajwa is about to retire from his post. But during this, his pain has come to the fore in a farewell speech. pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa He has got his own army disgraced. He has…

[emergingpakistan]

آرمی چیف کی توجہ کے لیے

آرمی چیف جنرل عاصم منیر کا اپنی تقریروں میں اسلامی حوالے دینا بہت اچھا لگتا ہے۔ اسلام کے نام پر قائم ہونے والے پاکستان کا صدر ہو، وزیراعظم ہو، جرنیل ہوں، وزیر، مشیر، گورنر، وزرائے اعلی، ممبران پارلیمنٹ یا اعلی عہدوں پر فائز سرکاری افسران، ان سب کیلئے لازم ہونا چاہئے کہ اُن کا اسلام سے متعلق علم عام پاکستانیوں سے زیادہ ہو۔ یہ اس لیے ضروری ہے کہ ہمارے فیصلے، ہمارے قوانین ، ہماری پالیسیاں سب اسلام کی تعلیمات کے مطابق ہوں۔ ہماری موجودہ صورتحال بہت خراب ہے۔ پاکستان اسلام کے نام پر قائم تو ہو گیا، اسلامی آئین بھی دے دیا گیا، بار بار اسلام کا نام بھی لیا گیا لیکن ہمارے قوانین، ہماری پالیسیاں دیکھیں، ہمارا ماحول، ہمارا میڈیا، ہماری معیشت، ہماری پارلیمنٹ، ہماری یونیورسٹیوں اور کالجوں پر نظر ڈالیں تو پتا چلے گا کہ اسلامی نظام کے نفاذ کیلئے کوئی سنجیدہ کوشش آج تک نہیں ہوئی، جس کے نتیجے میں ہم ایک Confused قوم بن چکے ہیں۔ نام اسلام کا لیتے ہیں جبکہ نقالی مغربی کلچر کی کر رہے ہیں۔ ہمارے آئین کی تو منشاء ہے کہ پارلیمنٹ کے مسلمان ممبران باعمل مسلمان ہوں، اسلامی تعلیمات کے بارے میں کافی علم رکھتے ہوں اور کسی بڑے گناہ کی وجہ سے نہ جانے جاتے ہوں۔

یہ بھی تمام ممبران کیلئے لازم ہے کہ وہ پاکستان کے اسلامی نظریے کا دفاع کرتے ہوں۔ حقیقت میں کیسے کیسے لوگ پارلیمنٹ میں آتے ہیں یہ کسی سے ڈھکا چھپا نہیں۔ آئین کی اسلامی شقوں کی کھلے عام خلاف ورزی ہوتی ہے لیکن کوئی بولتا نہیں۔ ہمارے کئی اراکینِ پارلیمنٹ پاکستان کے اسلامی نظریےکی مخالفت کرتے ہیں، کئی سیکولر پاکستان کی بات کرتے ہیں لیکن آئین کی منشاء کے خلاف جانے کے باوجود اُن کے خلاف کوئی کارروائی نہیں ہوتی۔ اس ماحول میں ایک حافظ قرآن جنرل کا آرمی چیف بننا اور اُن کی طرف سے اپنی ہر تقریر میں اسلامی تعلیمات کا بڑے فخر سے حوالہ دینا بہت خوش آئند ہے، جس کی ہم سب کو حوصلہ افزائی کرنی چاہئے۔ میری آرمی چیف جنرل عاصم منیر سے گزارش ہے کہ وہ پاک فوج میں اسلامی تعلیمات کے فروغ کیلئے اقدامات کریں۔ اس سلسلے میں، میں سابق نیول چیف ایڈمرل ظفر محمود عباسی کی مثال دوں گا جنہوں نے اپنے تین سالہ دور میں پاکستان نیوی میں ایسا انقلاب برپا کیا جو نہ صرف قابلِ تحسین بلکہ قابلِ تقلید بھی ہے۔ 

ایڈمرل عباسی کی ہدایت پر پاک بحریہ اور بحریہ فائونڈیشن کے تحت چلنے والے تمام اسکولوں میں قرآن حکیم کو فہم کے ساتھ لازمی طور پر پڑھایا جا نے لگا، جس کیلئے پرانے اساتذہ کی تربیت کی گئی اور نئے استاد بھی بھرتی کئے گئے۔ اس کے ساتھ ساتھ بحریہ کے رہائشی علاقوں میں قرآن سینٹرز کھولے گئے جہاں بچوں، بڑوں اور بوڑھوں، سب کو قرآن حکیم کی فہم کے ساتھ تعلیم ، اسلامی اقدار کے فروغ اور مغرب کی ذہنی غلامی سے چھٹکارے پر زور اور تربیت دینے کے اقدامات کیے گئے۔ اسلامی لباس اور اسلامی شعائر کو اپنانے پر زور دیا گیا اور طلبہ کو بالخصوص علامہ اقبال کے فکری انقلاب سے روشناس کروانے کیلئے بھی کام کیا گیا۔ پاک بحریہ کی تاریخ میں پہلی مرتبہ Religious Motivation Officers بھرتی کئے گئے۔ اِن افسران نے بہترین دینی اور دنیاوی تعلیم حاصل کی ہوئی ہے اور نیول اکیڈمی کے تربیت یافتہ ہیں۔ اِن Religious Motivation Officers کو ذمہ داری دی گئی کہ وہ نیول افسران اور ماتحت اہلکاروں کی اسلامی تعلیمات کے مطابق زندگی گزارنے کے حوالے سے حوصلہ افزائی کریں۔ 

اِن افسران کو نیوی کے جہازوں میں بھی افسران اور ماتحت اہلکاروں کی اسلامی اصولوں کے مطابق تعلیم و تربیت کیلئے بھیجا گیا۔ اِن افسران کی یہ بھی ذمہ داری لگائی گئی کہ خطبہ جمعہ دیں اور دورِ حاضر کے ایشوز پر دسترس رکھتے ہوئے عوام کی اسلامی تعلیمات کی روشنی میں رہنمائی کریں۔ سابق نیول چیف کے دور میں بحریہ کے تحت چلنے والی تمام مساجد کی بہترین انداز میں تزین و آرائش بھی کی گئی جبکہ خطیبوں اور ائمہ مساجد کی تعداد ماضی کے مقابلے میں دگنا کر دی گئی۔ اس کے ساتھ ساتھ پاکستان نیول اکیڈمی کے کیڈٹس کیلئے عربی زبان کی تعلیم کو لازم کر دیا گیا ہے۔ خواتین کو پردہ کرنے کی ترغیب دینے، اُن کیلئے خصوصاً پڑھاتے وقت اعضائے ستر کو چھپا کر رکھنے، جبکہ مردوں کو نگاہوں کی حفاظت کرنے اور شائستگی اپنانے کی بھی ہدایات جاری کی گئیں۔ پروموشن کیلئے پاک بحریہ کے افسران کے کردار کو اہمیت دی جانے لگی یعنی اگر کوئی افسر چاہے کتنا ہی قابل اور لائق کیوں نہ ہو اگر باکردار نہ ہو تو اُسے ترقی نہیں دی جاتی۔ امید ہے کہ موجودہ نیول چیف کے دور میں بھی یہ پالیسیاں پاکستان نیوی میں جاری و ساری رہیں گی۔ میں ماضی میں اپنے کالمز کے ذریعے یہ گزارش پاک فوج اور ائیرفورس کی اعلیٰ قیادت سے بھی کر چکا ہوں کہ پاکستان نیوی کی طرح اُنہیں بھی یہ اقدامات اپنی اپنی فورس میں کرنے چاہئیں۔ اس سلسلے میں آرمی چیف سے امید اس لیے زیادہ ہے کیوں کہ وہ خود اسلامی تعلیمات کی اہمیت کو کسی عام فرد سے بہت زیادہ سمجھتے ہیں۔

انصار عباسی

بشکریہ روزنامہ جنگ

[xtruss]

From Prison, Former Prime Minister Imran Khan Says “Top Pakistani Coward & Corrupt General Asim Munir” Betrayed Secret Deal To Stay Out Of Politics

Sources Close To The Ousted Prime Minister Say Khan Also Accuses “Coward and Corrupt General Asim Munir” For Assassination Attempt and Cover-ups.

— Ryan Grim, Murtaza Hussain | June 27 2024 | The Intercept

Illegally Ousted By Pakistan’s Corrupt and Coward Generals Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, before he was imprisoned, speaking to supporters in Lahore, on April 27, 2022. Photo: Arif Ali/AFP Via Getty Images

From His Prison Cell, Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed escalating criticism of Pakistan army chief Asim Munir’s drive to seize political power, according to multiple sources who remain in close touch with Khan.

The communications include new allegations about Khan’s history with Munir. According to those in touch with the imprisoned prime minister, Khan is making new allegations that Munir violated an agreement to remain neutral in Pakistani politics in exchange for Khan accepting his appointment as army chief.

— Imran Khan Is Making New Allegations That “Corrupt & Coward General Asim Munir” Violated An Agreement To Remain Neutral In Pakistani Politics In Exchange For Khan Accepting His Appointment As Coward Army Chief.

The deposed prime minister also alleges that Munir conspired with his civilian political rivals, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to cooperate against him in exchange for dropping corruption charges that had forced Sharif into exile.

The escalating personal conflict between Khan and Munir also looms large in the communications. Khan alleges that Munir ordered agents of Pakistan’s notorious intelligence service to kill him and that the general covered up assassination attempts by squashing a police probe and burying CCTV footage.

The allegations from Khan about Munir come as the general has continued amassing political power and leading a brutal crackdown on rival political parties, activists, and the press in Pakistan.

The crackdown included the removal and imprisonment of Khan, Pakistan’s most popular politician; violence and arrests targeting his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party; and a rigged election this February.

Khan’s fate remains the biggest unanswered question in the country’s politics, which the prison communiques suggest are driven by acrimony between him and Munir.

— “Pakistan’s Military Ruler “Corrupt & Coward General Asim Munir” Is Now Targeting American Families of Pro-Democracy Activists.”

With transnational repression reaching the U.S. — the military reportedly detained Pakistan-based family members of rivals living in the U.S. and Canada — the crackdown is drawing increasingly stronger condemnations from American officials.

Last week, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., issued a video statement condemning the targeting of family members of Americans and called for sanctions to be placed on Pakistani military leaders including Munir.

“Pakistan’s military ruler Asim Munir is now targeting American families of pro-democracy activists,” Khanna said. “We all know the elections in Pakistan were rigged, and Imran Khan is still in jail. The United States needs to sanction Asim Munir and any military leader in Pakistan who is targeting Americans.”

Assassination Attempts

Khan’s allegations about Munir were shared with The Intercept by a number of sources close to him who requested anonymity to protect their security.

In the communications, Khan alleges the existence of CCTV footage and other evidence showing that Munir concocted a scheme to have Khan killed at a tumultuous court appearance on March 18, 2023.

Khan’s car was mobbed by spectators on the way to court, some of whom, Khan alleges, were Inter-Services Intelligence agents dressed in civilian clothes. The attempt on his life, Khan says, was only thwarted by a crowd of PTI supporters who surrounded his car.

Khan also offered his own narrative on a November 2022 incident when he was wounded in a shooting attack at a political rally that killed one of his supporters. The Pakistani government detained a single person for the attack, whom officials claimed had been motivated by religious extremism.

According to sources close to the former prime minister, Khan accused Munir of being behind a cover-up of the incident. The general, he claims, blocked an independent probe into the attack and that eyewitness accounts pointed to the involvement of multiple assailants.

A truck painted with a portrait of Pakistan’s Coward and Corrupt Army Chief General Asim Munir, in Islamabad, on Aug. 16, 2023. Photo: Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images

Munir’s Political Plays

Pakistan has been held hostage to the political clash between Khan and Munir, with the former prime minister now imprisoned on charges widely seen as politicized.

Khan claims that Munir bargained with his civilian political rivals, including Sharif, the former prime minister, to spare them from corruption charges. In exchange, the politicians like Sharif supported jailing Khan and cracking down on his party.

— Khan Claims Munir Bargained With His Civilian Political Rivals, Including Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, To Spare Them From Corruption Charges.

The crackdown — extrajudicial killings, torture, mass detentions, and other sweeping measures aimed at dismantling the PTI — has so far failed to dim Khan’s popularity. In elections this February, candidates affiliated with PTI won sweeping support, according to exit polls, before electoral rigging engineered by the military allowed a coalition government of Khan’s opposition to form.

Khan characterizes the events as a betrayal by Munir. In Khan’s telling, according to the sources close to him, the prime minister’s downfall was precipitated after Munir reneged on an agreement. Khan says that the then-President Arif Alvi, a senior member of his party, had the power to block Munir’s ascension to the top military post in the country but allowed it to go forward after the general’s emissaries said he planned to stay out of politics.

Munir, like Pakistani military leaders before him, plays a prime role in the country’s political affairs.

Khan’s legal status remains in flux after serious corruption and espionage charges against him were thrown out in court. The former prime minister now remains imprisoned solely on charges that he improperly married his third wife in contravention of religious guidelines.

PTI meanwhile remains at odds with the military establishment, with halting attempts to mediate a resolution to Pakistan’s ongoing political standoff so far unsuccessful.

Deepening Crackdown — and Crises

Khan’s removal by his military and civilian rivals came in a 2022 no-confidence vote organized amid pressure from the U.S. over the prime minister’s foreign policy stances.

Since the removal, Pakistan has been wracked by overlapping economic and political crises that have paralyzed the nation of 200 million.

Even with Khan and PTI sidelined, the military continues its attempts to suppress speech. This year, the military blocked X and issued a statement denouncing “digital terrorism.” Government officials have also made reference to imposing a national firewall on the country’s internet.

Khan’s personal safety is widely believed to be in jeopardy by his supporters, including Pakistani Americans who recently lobbied for Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to contact the Pakistani government about his safety.

In addition to blaming Munir for betraying his trust and attempting to engineer his murder, from prison Khan has repeatedly raised the specter that the general is leading the country toward a repeat of its traumatic 1971 partition — a stinging embarrassment for Pakistani nationalists.

The partition occurred following a military-led crackdown and massacre after an army rival won elections. The civil war spurred the secession of the eastern half of the country into the nation of Bangladesh.

[shaktiknowledgeblog]

imran khan | imran khan news | imran khan pakistan | Pakistan | Pakistan Army Former Chief

Bajwa spoiled the game! Imran Khan again blew the bomb and said- We would also get cheap oil from Russia if… Imran Khan: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed that Pakistan would have got oil from Russia at a cheap price if former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa had not condemned Russia. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan claimed that due to the former army chief, Pakistan is getting…

[worldinyourpalm]

पाकिस्तानी सेना प्रमुख के दौरे के दौरान कश्मीर पर तीसरा अंपायर बनाएगा ब्रिटेन | UK would serve as the third umpire during the visit of the Pakistani army leader;

ब्रिटेन भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप को लेकर भ्रम में

अर्थव्यवस्था और वैश्विक दबदबे के मामले में भारत द्वारा ब्रिटेन को अपने कब्जे में लेने के बावजूद, ब्रिटेन अभी भी भारतीय उपमहाद्वीप को लेकर भ्रम में है और पाकिस्तान की मदद से अफगानिस्तान-पाक क्षेत्र में खेलना पसंद करता है। 2021 में काबुल पर तालिबान का कब्जा इस यूके-पाक शैतानी नाटक का विनाशकारी परिणाम रहा है, जिसमें अफगान अल्पसंख्यकों और महिलाओं को इस्लामवादी भेड़ियों के लिए फेंक दिया गया था।

विभाजन के दौरान लाखों भारतीयों की जान लेने वाली उप-महाद्वीपीय हिंसा के बीच इंपीरियल ब्रिटेन से भारत और पाकिस्तान को स्वतंत्रता प्राप्त हुए 75 साल हो चुके हैं। आज, प्रधान मंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी के नेतृत्व में भारत दुनिया के एक बड़े देश के लिए आर्थिक विकास की सबसे तेज दर के साथ ब्रिटेन की तुलना में एक बड़ी अर्थव्यवस्था है और पाकिस्तान आर्थिक बैरल के निचले हिस्से को खंगाल रहा है। इस सब के बावजूद, ब्रिटेन को अभी भी एक शाही शक्ति का भ्रम है और भारत के प्रति एक औपनिवेशिक मानसिकता है ��र अभी भी इस्लामिक पाकिस्तान और रावलपिंडी जीएचक्यू के प्रति पारंपरिक पूर्वाग्रह के साथ अफ-पाक क्षेत्र खेलता है।

दक्षिण एशिया में क्षेत्रीय स्थिरता: भू-राजनीति और अन्य चुनौतियों की वापसी

ब्रिटेन के राज्य प्रसारक बीबीसी ने विदेशी कार्यालय के निर्देशों के साथ 2024 के चुनावों को ध्यान में रखते हुए भारतीय सर्वोच्च न्यायालय द्वारा पीएम मोदी को क्लीन चिट देने के बावजूद 2002 के गुजरात दंगों को उठाया, पाकिस्तान और ब्रिटेन की सेना ने संयुक्त रूप से इंग्लैंड में क्षेत्रीय स्थिरता सम्मेलन की मेजबानी करने का फैसला किया है। अन्य बातों के अलावा तथाकथित कश्मीर विवाद पर चर्चा करने के लिए।

जबकि न तो यूके और न ही पाकिस्तान के पास जम्मू और कश्मीर के केंद्रशासित प्रदेश में कोई ठिकाना है, पाकिस्तान के सेना प्रमुख जनरल असीम मुनीर ऋषि सुनक सरकार के निमंत्रण पर 5-8 फरवरी के बीच विल्टन पार्क में 5 वें संयुक्त यूके-पाक स्थिरीकरण सम्मेलन को संबोधित करने वाले हैं। विल्टन पार्क ब्रिटेन के विदेश कार्यालय की एक कार्यकारी एजेंसी है जो स्पष्ट रूप से रणनीतिक चर्चाओं के लिए एक मंच प्रदान करती है। यूके के सेना प्रमुख जनरल पीएन वाई एम सैंडर्स द्वारा सह-मेजबानी किए जाने वाले सम्मेलन की थीम 'दक्षिण एशिया में क्षेत्रीय स्थिरता: भू-राजनीति और अन्य चुनौतियों की वापसी' है। सम्मेलन यूरोपीय संघ, ब्रिटेन पर यूक्रेन युद्ध के प्रभाव और पाकिस्तान के लिए विचार पर ध्यान केंद्रित करेगा, जिसने यूक्रेन को गुप्त रूप से आरएएफ विमानों का उपयोग करके हथियार और गोला-बारूद प्रदान किया है। यूक्रेन युद्ध में पाकिस्तान की दोहरी भूमिका को नहीं भूलना चाहिए क्योंकि 24 फरवरी, 2022 को मॉस्को में राष्ट्रपति व्लादिमीर पुतिन ने पाकिस्तान के तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री इमरान खान नियाजी का स्वागत किया था, जब रूसी शक्तिशाली व्यक्ति ने पड़ोसी यूक्रेन पर आक्रमण करने का फैसला किया था। चर्चा के अन्य विषयों में सूचना संचालन की भूमिका, युद्ध में साइबर हमला, दक्षिण एशियाई क्षेत्रीय स्थिरता, सुरक्षा चुनौतियां और कश्मीर विवाद पर एक अपडेट शामिल हैं.....

[peghamnetwork-blog]

پاکستانی فوج

پاکستانی فوج                                                 Pakistan army تشکیلِ پاکستان(1947) سے لیکر عمران خان کی حکومت(2022) کو ناجائز حربوں سے گرانے تک پاکستانی فوج کا پاکستانی سیاست میں انتہائی بھیانک، شرمناک اور تباہ ک�� کردار رہا ہے! پدرِ ملت کی انتھک محنتوں سے جو ریاست پاکستان کی صورت میں تشکیل پائی اسکی تقسیم ہی غلط تھی، یوں اس غلط تقسیم کو ئی 70 سال بعد انگریز خود اس بات کا اظہار کرنے…

[newscast1]

Imran Khan accuses former Pak Army chief Bajwa of using ex-envoy to 'lobby' against him in US

Imran Khan accuses former Pak Army chief Bajwa of using ex-envoy to ‘lobby’ against him in US

In his latest attack against former Pakistan army chief Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan said Bajwa hired former Pakistani ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqaani to lobby against him there.  New Delhi,UPDATED: Jan 2, 2023 09:10 IST Ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched a fresh attack on former Pakistan Army Chief Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa.…

[newsso]

Asim Munir became Pakistan new Army Chief

Asim Munir became Pakistan new Army Chief

[decolonize-the-everything]

In response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, Operation Enduring Freedom officially began 7 October 2001 with American and British bombing strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Initially, the Taliban was removed from power and al-Qaeda was seriously crippled, but forces continually dealt with a stubborn Taliban insurgency, infrastructure rebuilding, and corruption among the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Border Police.

On 2 May 2011, U.S. Navy SEALS (Sea, Air, Land) launched a raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, during Operation Neptune Spear, killing the al-Qaeda leader and mastermind of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Operation Enduring Freedom officially ended on 28 December 2014, although coalition forces remained on the ground to assist with training Afghan security forces. The United States Armed Forces completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, marking the end of the 2001-2021 war.

Walz and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul said Saturday morning that the vast majority of those who were arrested Friday night were outside agitators who were not from the Twin Cities region. Walz called those people a group "bent on adapting their tactics to make it as difficult as possible" to maintain order. "Let's be very clear: The situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd. It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great cities," Walz said. He said he had mobilized more than 700 National Guard soldiers on Friday night, and that after television cameras found large gatherings of protesters with no police presence at all, he was authorizing the head of the state's National Guard to fully mobilize on Saturday.

Contrary to activists’ calls to defund the police, the bill provides over $3 million in new funding for these initiatives and extends an existing $6 million in annual training funds until 2024.

[...]Dropped from the bill were DFL provisions that would have turned over prosecutions involving deadly force to the attorney general’s office and restored voting rights to some felons.

[...]Civil rights lawyer, activist and former Minneapolis mayoral candidate Nekima Levy Armstrong called the bill “watered-down legislation” and “a slap in the face, especially to Black residents in the state of Minnesota.” Activists weren’t the only ones disheartened. Andy Skoogman, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he wanted to see greater changes to arbitration as well. And Julia Decker, police director for the ACLU of Minnesota, told the Star Tribune that she was disappointed the bill didn’t require an independent prosecutor like the attorney general to handle cases like Floyd’s.

Did you know that the Minnesota State Board of Investments holds around 10,000 shares, worth a whopping $1.2 million, in Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems — the world’s largest exporter of drones?

Elbit has been involved in all of the major Israeli assaults in Gaza, contracts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for, among other things, a virtual surveillance wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, and markets its equipment to governments around the world as “battle-tested” (on the Palestinian civilians). Elbit drones constantly fly over Gaza, providing surveillance targeting for military assaults and Israeli snipers that hit peaceful protestors.

What are the odds that the drones over Minneapolis were Elbit drones, especially given that Metropolitan State University, located in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, metropolitan area, partners with Elbit on a state of the art cybersecurity training facility? A number of Democrats in Congress have written to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf expressing “grave concern” over the use of drones over Minneapolis on May 29th to “surveil and intimidate” protestors.

Pro-Palestine protesters have been demanding that the state of Minnesota divest its financial stakes in Israeli companies and bonds, which they say are worth around $119m. Activists have also for years been urging the state to repeal its anti-boycott legislation, which forces state contractors to sign a pledge that they will not engage in a boycott of Israel. The law was first passed in 2017, prior to Walz becoming governor. However, he has made no moves to try to repeal the law. In December, a group of 1,000 Palestinian solidarity activists in Minnesota disrupted Walz's Christmas party, demanding the governor commit to divesting from Israel. “Governor Walz has ignored our calls for the divestment of taxpayer dollars and public pension funds from Israeli apartheid. But he will never stop hearing from us or seeing us until he finally ends Minnesota's complacency in genocide,” Christine Hauschildt of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee said back in December.

"I don't know of a single educator who wants our money invested in weapons companies, and in bombing school buildings in racist wars,” Drake Myers, a member of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee who is also active in the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, told the panel. Max Vash, who has a Palestinian son, spoke out against the state’s holdings in Elbit Systems, an international defense and aerospace contractor based in Israel. “You have the power and the responsibility to ensure that neither my son, nor any other Palestinian person experiences these horrors,” Vash said. Lucia Wilkes Smith, a longtime member of Mothers Against Military Madness, said the BDS movement — Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions — shouldn’t be written off as antisemitic. Mike McDonald of Veterans for Peace didn’t address Israel directly but said the Board of Investment shouldn’t have money in defense contractors that are arming nations across the planet. He asserted the state has $800 million in holdings in companies that make weapons of warfare. It’s not the first time the investment board has heard from people calling for divestment from Israel. In 2015, activists unsuccessfully pressed the board to sell off its Israeli government bonds. This time around, activists look to build support based on outrage over thousands of Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza in the war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. That fighting was sparked by a series of coordinated surprise attacks by Hamas on Israel Oct. 7, in which 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were slain and 250 others were taken hostage. Since the war began, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors. The board members — Walz, Simon, and Blaha — listened and took notes, but didn’t take any action in response to the request.

.....gonna wait to hear more but I'm not super impressed thus far.

I don't give a shit what your domestic policy is when you're actively making money off of a genocide started by the "war on terror" you personally helped start.

[mapsontheweb]

Regions of Current Age Pakistan before Invasion of Alexander

Alexander the Great's military campaigns in the Indus Valley (modern-day Pakistan) involved significant engagements with local territories, kingdoms, and their rulers. In 329 B.C., Alexander conquered Qandhar and encountered Indian tribes for the first time, marking the beginning of his interactions with the complex political landscape of the area. By 327 B.C., he had crossed the Hindukush Mountains, capturing key fortifications such as Astes Fort and massacring 7000 Indians at Massaga of Assakenians. His conquest continued with the siege and capture of Aornos in December of the same year.

During his campaigns, Alexander encountered various powerful entities in the region. The Buddhists, particularly in Sind, were influential, with prominent temples in Multan and Alore. Despite the power of the Buddhist monks, the Brahmins played a significant role in resisting Greek advances, inciting rebellion among local rulers such as Sambus. This resistance led to notable conflicts, including the defeat of Poros in 326 B.C. and the collapse of the Mallians in 325 B.C. The Greek conqueror’s interactions with these local powers highlight the complex and multi-faceted nature of the region's political dynamics.

Alexander's campaign in the southern Punjab in 326 B.C. was marked by the defeat of the Malli and Oxydraki principalities, followed by the liberation of the rivers Hydaspes, Acesines, and Indus. His naval fleet, consisting of 2000 warships, played a crucial role in these operations. The submission of Musicanus, the chief of upper Sind, who paid homage to Alexander to avoid destruction, further exemplifies the mix of military might and diplomatic engagements that characterized Alexander's approach. The appointment of Peithon as the Governor of Sind and the dispatch of Krateros with an army via Bolan Pass were strategic moves to consolidate Greek control over the region.

The period following Alexander's departure saw significant turmoil. In 325 B.C., revolts in Patala and other regions, such as the rebellion of Sambus and Musicanus, were brutally suppressed. Alexander's forces, led by his generals, employed severe measures, including mass executions and enslavement, to quell these uprisings. The death of Philippus, the Satrap of Upper Sindhu Valley, due to internal jealousy among Greeks and Macedonians, underscores the tensions within Alexander’s administration. These events reveal the fragile nature of Greek control and the persistent resistance from local rulers and populations.

Alexander's death in 323 B.C. marked a turning point, as his empire was divided among his generals. Despite the fragmentation of his empire, Sind continued to be governed by Peithon, reflecting the lasting impact of Alexander's conquests on the region. The strategic and administrative decisions made during his campaigns had enduring effects, shaping the political landscape of Sind and its neighboring territories. Alexander's legacy in these regions is a testament to the complex interplay of military conquest, local resistance, and administrative governance that defined his rule.

[zvaigzdelasas]

[VoiceOfAmerica is US State Media]

Hameed's name was widely featured in local media for his alleged involvement in national politics and influence on journalists during his tenure as the ISI chief.

The general gained global attention when journalists captured his presence on camera in the lobby of a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S.-led Western forces withdrew following nearly two decades of involvement in the Afghan war.

During their presence in Afghanistan, Washington and allied nations had persistently accused the ISI of providing sanctuaries and covertly enabling Taliban leaders to orchestrate insurgent attacks from Pakistan against international forces on the Afghan side of the border.

Hameed was believed to be close to former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who appointed him to lead the ISI when he was prime minister.[...]

In the run-up to the vote [to depose Khan], the deposed prime minister’s aides reported that he developed disputes with the military over whether Hameed should be retained as the ISI chief, as Khan desired.

12 Aug 24

[philibetexcerpts]

On 11 February 1961, the Queen and Prince Philip attended a dinner given by the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army.

The Queen wore a crinoline gown of pale blue silk faille, embroidered all over with white beads in a feather motif, designed by Norman Hartnell for this occasion.

As for the jewelry, she wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee necklace, the Edinburgh wedding bracelet, and her Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 watch.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Μνάσεσθαί τινά φαμι καὶ ὔστερον ἀμμέων.**

- Sappho

**I think men will remember us even hereafter.

Men of the British Indian Army were heroes, some recognised but mostly unsung. Their stories and their heroism have long been omitted from popular histories of the first world war (and the second world war).

Approximately 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in World War One, and over 74,000 of them lost their lives. But history has mostly forgotten these sacrifices, which were rewarded with broken promises of Indian independence from the British government as well as inadequate post-war mental health care for those struggling with PTSD.

Khudadad Khan became the first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross, the highest honour a soldier can receive on the battlefield. He was a machine gunner with the 129th Baluchi Regiment. A total of 11 Victorian Crosses were won by Indian soldiers. Others are Mir Dast, Shahamad Khan, Lala, Darwan Negi, Gabbar Negi, Karanbahadur Rana, Badlu Singh, Chatta Singh, Gobind Singh and Kulbir Thapa. This is an incredible feat unknown to those unversed in military history. Next to the fearsome Gurkhas, the Indians, especially from the Punjab, have always been recognised as some of the fiercest, brave, and most loyal of fighting soldiers.

The Indian army played a vital role in the victory of 'allies' while India was under the British colonial rule. It provided in large numbers and distinctly to the European, Mediterranean and the Middle East halls of war, obviously from the British side. Whilst its soldiers were fighting in the muddy fields of the Somme and other bloody battlefields of northern France, India itself was struggling for self-rule and dominion status under British, if not for complete freedom.

Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army once said "Britain couldn't have come through both wars if they hadn't had the Indian Army." This is painfully true. The myth we tell ourselves is ‘Britain alone’. Yes, that’s true but she wasn’t alone against the dark forces of evil. She had the nations within the empire (and later the commonwealth) standing next to her - the brave servicemen and women drawn from such countries as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and of course British India. 

Having been raised in both India and Pakistan as a child I had always been aware of the sacrifices the past generations of brave Indians and Pakistanis had made for the British Empire through the deep friendships made with Indian and Pakistani childhood friends and their families, but also through the written words of diaries and private papers of my family that lived and served in India in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

The lack of recognition of the brave and sacrificial contribution of the British Indian soldier in both wars has been something that has always upset me as a travesty of justice and the truth of the historical record. Until recently no acknowledgement in the public consciousness has been widely shared of their bravery and courage in history. Happily things have changed, albeit slowly, with more books and films being produced. But more has to be done.

Lest we forget.

Photo: A French boy introduces himself to Indian soldiers who had just arrived in France to fight alongside French and British forces, Marseilles, 30th September 1914.

[metamatar]

[From 15 Dec 2023]

me when im against fascism:

Its predecessor, the party (Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan), strongly opposed the independence of Bangladesh and break-up of Pakistan. In 1971, paramilitary forces associated with the party collaborated with the Pakistan Army in mass killings of Bangladeshi nationalists and pro-intellectuals.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

Upon the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the new government banned Jamaat-e-Islami from political participation since the government was secular and some of its leaders went into exile in Pakistan. Following the assassination of the first president and the military coup in 1975, the ban on the Jamaat was lifted and the new party Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was formed. Exiled leaders were allowed to return. Abbas Ali Khan was the acting Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh. The Jamaat agenda is the creation of an "Islamic state" with the Sha'ria legal system, and outlawing "un-Islamic" practices and laws. For this reason, it interpretes their central political concept "Iqamat-e-Deen" as establishing Islamic state by possession of state power

Upon the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the new government banned Jamaat-e-Islami from political participation since the government was secular and some of its leaders went into exile in Pakistan. Following the assassination of the first president and the military coup in 1975, the ban on the Jamaat was lifted and the new party Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh was formed.

[...] In 2010 the government, led by the Awami League, began prosecution of war crimes committed during the 1971 war under the International Crimes Tribunal. By 2012, two leaders of the BNP, one leader from Jatiyo Party and eight of Jamaat had been charged with war crimes, and by March 2013, three Jamaat leaders had been convicted of crimes. In response, the Jamaat held major strikes and protests across the country, which led to more than 60 deaths (mostly by security forces.)

The former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, was sentenced to 90 years in jail for crimes against humanity on 15 July 2013. [...]

In 1973, the government cancelled his citizenship for allegedly co-operating with Pakistani forces during the independence war.

Azam lived as an exile in Pakistan and the UK but returned to Bangladesh in 1978 when the country was led by Gen Ziaur Rahman - the assassinated husband of the country's current opposition leader [of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party] Khaleda Zia.

Minority community leaders, rights activists and liberal personalities have raised concerns over the call by acting chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Tarique Rahman, who stands convicted in a number of cases, for party men to mobilise on the streets for "regime change" on 28 October [2023].

[...] Rana Dasgupta said, considering the violent attacks orchestrated by BNP in the past, "this latest threat by Tarique is deeply concerning for the minorities in Bangladesh".

"Any political party that complies with the basic tenets of democracy should refrain from issuing such threats publicly," Dasgupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, added.

In the run-up to the 2014 national election, violence on the streets coupled with targeted attacks on minorities across the country still traumatise the victims, he observed

[mariacallous]

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan—Mohsin Dawar’s campaign for re-election to Pakistan’s parliament was almost cut short before it began in early January when his convoy was ambushed in a village just a few minutes’ drive from his home in Miran Shah in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district, near the lawless borderlands with Afghanistan. As his car came under attack from militants armed with automatic weapons, sniper rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades, he and his team were lured into a compound by residents who promised them safety.

It was a trap. Once the gates closed behind Dawar, the attack intensified. For almost an hour, he said, they were pinned down. Police and Pakistan Army backup finally arrived but not before two of Dawar’s team had been shot and injured. The vehicle took more than 80 bullets, and the windows show just how accurate the attackers’ aim was: Either one of the shots to the windshield or passenger window would have struck and likely killed him if he hadn’t been protected by bulletproof glass.

The Jan. 3 attack on a popular, outspoken, liberal leader in one of the most vulnerable regions of a country fighting a growing insurgency by extremist militants hardly registered in Pakistan, where most believe the military attempted—and failed—to manipulate the Feb. 8 election in an effort to install Nawaz Sharif as prime minister for a fourth time and where media operate under tight government control.

The election wasn’t quite the foregone conclusion that had been expected, with candidates aligned with the jailed cricket star-turned-populist leader Imran Khan winning more votes than each of the major parties—the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party—forcing them into a coalition to get the majority needed to form a government. PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif nominated his brother, Shehbaz Sharif, to become prime minister and his daughter Maryam Nawaz as chief minister of Punjab province, ensuring the dynastic line continues.

Candidates across the country, not only those loyal to Khan, alleged that the results had been rigged against them and in favor of military-backed candidates. Two days after the election, with his seat still undeclared amid growing concerns nationwide about vote rigging, Dawar and about a dozen of his supporters were injured when security forces opened fire on them as they gathered outside the official counting room.

At least three people died of their injuries; What Dawar had believed was an unassailable lead, according to polling by his secular National Democratic Movement party, had disappeared. In the count that was listed as final by Pakistan’s Election Commission, the seat went to Misbah Uddin of the Taliban-aligned Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam-Fazl party. Dawar is still recovering from a serious leg wound.

Dawar’s hometown is, once again, the battleground of what he calls “Project Taliban”—a war against the Pakistani state.

The Taliban’s transnational ambitions are threatening security beyond the borders of Afghanistan, and nowhere is this more evident than in Pakistan’s northwest, where the militant presence has been growing since the terrorist-led group came back to power in August 2021. Attacks on civilians, soldiers, and police have soared. The region bristles with checkpoints and hilltop outposts and is heavily patrolled on the ground and in the air by the Pakistan Army and armed border police. That’s during daylight hours, Dawar told Foreign Policy. Once night falls, it’s a different story.

“The Army checkposts you will only see during the daytime. Before sunset, they go to their barracks, and the people of Waziristan are at the disposal of the militants. Everyone has to secure himself or herself for their own protection,” he said. “It is militarized, and I believe it is a continuation of a proxy war that was started long ago. ‘Project Taliban’ is still continuing.”

The roots of militancy and terrorism in Waziristan go back to colonial times, when the mostly Pashtun people here were characterized as fearless fighters and pressed into service for the British. The stereotype stuck; the region became a center of recruitment and training for young men to fight the Soviets after Moscow’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

After the United States led an invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, leaders of the Taliban and al Qaeda moved over the border and for the following 20 years enjoyed the protection of the Pakistani military’s intelligence wing, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

The ISI wanted a tame Taliban-led Afghanistan to thwart the ambitions of archrival India to become the dominant regional power. The Taliban had different ideas. The group’s return to power has inspired affiliated and like-minded groups worldwide, as the extremist regime provides safe haven for dozens of militant groups, according to the U.N. Security Council. They now openly use Afghanistan as a base to train fighters seeking to overthrow governments from China and Tajikistan to Iran and Israel. Among them is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which, Afrasiab Khattak, a former Pakistani lawmaker and now a political analyst, said, is “just Taliban, there is no difference.”

Earlier this month, the Taliban reiterated the group’s stance on the international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan when the acting foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, said the government doesn’t recognize the Durand Line that has delineated the two countries since 1893. The line runs through the tribal regions, dividing ethnic Pashtun and Baloch tribespeople. Recent bilateral tensions have often focused on the border, with tit-for-tat closures impacting cross-border trade.

In comments that Pakistan’s foreign ministry later called “fanciful” and “self-serving”—and which underlined the simmering hostility between Pakistan and the Taliban it helped put in power—Stanikzai said: “We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize it; today half of Afghanistan is separated and is on the other side of the Durand Line. Durand is the line which was drawn by the English on the heart of Afghans.”

The Security Council said in 2022 that the TTP had up to 5,500 fighters in Afghanistan. That number has likely risen, Dawar said, as neither country, mired in economic mismanagement and crisis, can offer its youthful population an alternative livelihood. Victory brought strength, Dawar said, and the Taliban “can attract the youth because money and power is what attracts youth the most.”

The simmering conflict threatens to return Pakistan’s northwest to the wasteland of less than decade ago, when the TTP controlled the region: Dissenters were routinely killed. Terrorists turned the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after an administrative merger in 2018, into a death zone. Millions of people were displaced as those who could leave fled to peace and safety.

Those who stayed lived in fear and poverty until the Army finally took action in 2016 and ended the TTP’s 10-year reign by simply killing them, often in attacks that also killed civilians, or pushing them over the porous border into Afghanistan, where they joined Taliban forces fighting the U.S.-supported republic until it collapsed in 2021.

The TTP wants an independent state in these border regions. It broke a cease-fire with the government in November 2022 and has demanded that the merger of the FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be reversed. Attacks on the military and police have escalated alarmingly, presenting what a senior government official, who spoke anonymously, called “not only an existential threat to the state but also to the common man”—a recognition that what Dawar calls “Project Taliban” not only threatens to engulf the northwest but, if not contained, poses a potential threat to a fragile and barely stable state.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar disagreed, telling reporters before the Feb. 8 vote that the military had the upper hand in the region, by virtue of numbers alone. “I don’t see that they pose an existential threat to the state of Pakistan,” he said, while nevertheless conceding it was a “big challenge” that could take years to dislodge.

He could be right. After the failure of peace talks, ironically brokered by the Taliban’s acting interior minister, U.N.-listed terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, Pakistan stepped up pressure on the TTP. Asfandyar Mir, an expert on South Asian political and security issues, said this appeared to have made a “marginal” difference.

“For instance, we haven’t seen a complex or suicide bombing attack by the TTP or one of its fronts for a couple of months now,” he said. “In that sense, it appears the Taliban is sensitive to pressure,” though “smaller-scale attacks and the erosion of Pakistani state authority in parts of the northwest continue.” Things could change, he said, once a new government is installed and, perhaps, brings some stability to the political landscape.

For the people of Waziristan, struggling to survive unemployment, a lack of development, and government neglect of basic services such as roads, electricity, clean water, and education—coupled with a downturn in vital cross-border trade with Afghanistan—priorities have again switched to peace. “The local people have learned through their own bitter experience of devastating war” what a Taliban resurgence means, said Khattak, the political analyst. The security establishment is playing a dangerous game, indulging the TTP so that “local people become so desperate they want the military to come in and help them,” he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched through the streets and bazaars of North and South Waziristan over the past year, demanding action against terrorism and an end to state violence. Yet it continues. “No one is safe. Everyone is a target,” said a man in his 30s as he rolled off a list of potential victims: politicians, business people, teachers, doctors, journalists, civic activists, women’s rights advocates, anyone deemed “un-Islamic.” Even barbers are not immune from extremists who ban men from shaving: The day before the Jan. 3 attack on Dawar’s convoy, the bodies of six young hairdressers were found in the nearby town of Mir Ali.

Another local resident pointed to a “Taliban checkpoint” on the road between Miran Shah and the bustling town of Bannu. The long-haired, kohl-eyed, gun-toting youths in sequined caps stand outside their roadside hut in the shadow of an Army post on the hill above. Around the clock, the resident said, they randomly stop vehicles to shake down the drivers. “It’s just for money,” he said. “Money and power.”

But it’s killing, too, “on a daily basis,” said a government worker who left Miran Shah with his family at the height of the TTP terror and visited in early February from Peshawar so he and his wife could vote for Dawar. The aim, he said, is “to create an atmosphere of fear so that people leave and what is here is theirs.”

Dawar said the turning of the Taliban tables on Pakistan “was predictable.” The Taliban “are now a threat to Central Asia. They are now a threat to Iran, to Pakistan, and to even China. All of them thought we will control the Taliban after the takeover. The problem is it didn’t happen,” he said.

In 2011, then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Pakistan’s leaders that they couldn’t keep “snakes,” as she called the Taliban, in their own backyard and “expect them only to bite your neighbors.”

“There used to be a time when people were sent from here to Afghanistan. Now they are coming around, they are biting,” Dawar said.