Instead of using the conference as a forum to air our grievances, we have opted to stay out.
SANTA CLARA, CA, US: I, as a Pakistani woman, refuse to be a mindless follower like many who are so brainwashed that they refuse to see the boycott of the Bonn conference as something bad for Pakistan.
The question is, who is begging whom? Instead of using the conference as a forum to air our grievances, we have opted to stay out of it completely. How is that possibly going to help our stand? I cannot think of a worse decision than this because we should have used the conference to present our view and opinions to the rest of the world. As for our protesting the Nato raid of November 26, that is happening in any case, so attending the Bonn conference would not have compromised our stance regarding the raid.
Nina Akbar
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2011.
