2010 winners: Allah, Army and America

The war on terror has made it fairly simple to do year enders, previously, one had to take a very wide view.

As 2010 draws to a close, we might as well take stock of where we stand. In many ways, the so-called war on terror has made it fairly simple to do year enders. In the pre-9/11 world, I remember the very wide view one had to take to sum up the year gone by. There was politics, economy, society, crime, education, health, culture, entertainment and what not to think through for the purpose.

Of course, even then, the joke used to be the three A’s that rule Pakistan's destiny — Allah, Army and America. But it was never as stark, as in your face, as it is now. Somehow, the war on terror has turned what was supposed to be a joke into the only relevant reality for perhaps the most troubled Muslim country in the world.

So, let's take stock of where we stand viz Allah, Army and America.

My database shows that the Americans have hit a century of drone attacks on Pakistani tribal areas this year, the first time they have done so in the space of just 12 months. But it seems to be of no concern to anyone. In fact, if anything, we know from WikiLeaks that instead of trying to stop this flagrant violation of our sovereignty, our civil and military leadership spends its time cosying up to American diplomats and sharing with them their deep, dark, scandalous desires.

In contrast, the Americans, clearly not content with the hundreds of nameless and faceless tribals they have killed, make no secret of their desire to see their Pakistani allies kill as many, if not more, and say they are deeply upset that we have so far been unable to satisfy their bloodlust. Yet they remain our allies, and for that, one of the clear winners in Pakistan for the year 2010.

Then, there is Allah, whose original message to his people lies mutilated and forgotten due to the ignorance of illiterate intermediaries, the intrigue of the faithful and the murk of international backstabbing and skulduggery. Whether we admit it or not, we now know Allah only through the bloodthirsty band of lunatics who call themselves the Taliban. Over the years, aided by dishonest politicians, self-styled preachers and a confused populace, they seem to have worked their way into our psyche like never before.

Despite the drone strikes and numerous military operations, they seem to be conducting their business pretty much as they always have — striking at will and drawing more and more youngsters into the twisted labyrinths of their evil philosophy. The army chief's recent assurance to the people of Swat that the army was there to stay for the foreseeable future, is a clear admission of Taliban's resilience and endurance. Along with the Americans, they must rank among the clear winners of 2010 in Pakistan.

Finally, the army. Our religious leaders have always been staunch believers in the need of a commander for the faithful, a sipah salar, and have always been allied to the army in one form or the other. But, it is our secular leadership that in 2010, has surrendered like never before to the army's predominance in national politics.

PML-N leaders regard General Pervez Kayani as a pro-democracy general. PPP leaders are so keen to keep him at bay that they have, for the first time in the country's history, awarded him with an additional tenure. But the icing on the cake has come from WikiLeaks which has told the entire world that our pro-democracy military leadership was looking to change the country's unanimously elected president. Yet, there is no one to hold the soldier accountable for his indiscretion.

In any other democracy, such a general would have been forced to resign. As such, the army too claims a premier spot among the winners in Pakistan in 2010.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2010.