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Growing political unrest in Pakistan will harm the country’s fight against terrorism and bolster extremists, Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif said.
Militants and extremists are “there to take advantage” of the unrest triggered by court rulings that barred him from elected office, Sharif told the Associated Press in an interview in Lahore.
Sharif had called for peaceful protests, but rioting broke out for a third day as police fired tear gas to break up the crowds.
About 100 people had piled rocks and bricks to block a six-lane highway between Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi. Officers blasted those in the crowd with tear gas, forcing them to disperse.
Unrest threatens fight against terrorism
The protests began after the country’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling that banned Sharif from contesting the February 2008 elections because of a prior criminal conviction.
The court also banned Sharif from challenging President Asif Ali Zardari in the 2013 general elections and removed Sharif’s brother as head of the government in Punjab, Pakistan’s richest and most populous province.
The recent unrest and brewing political crisis risks distracting Pakistan’s shaky government from the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban and the country’s perilous economic situation.
The popular Sharif has accused Zardari of orchestrating the court rulings and has called for protests.
But Agree With Its Goal of Driving US Forces Out
A study of public opinion in predominantly Muslim countries reveals that very large majorities continue to renounce the use of attacks on civilians as a means of pursuing political goals. At the same time large majorities agree with al Qaeda’s goal of pushing the United States to remove its military forces from all Muslim countries and substantial numbers, in some cases majorities, approve of attacks on US troops in Muslim countries.
Opposition to US military presence appears to be related to largely negative views of US goals in relation to the Muslim world. A key belief is that the US has goals hostile to Islam itself. Large majorities ranging from 62 percent in Indonesia to 87 percent in Egypt say they believe that the United States seeks “to weaken and divide the Islamic world.”
Many also perceive the US having goals of economic domination. Large majorities say that it is a US goal to “maintain control over the oil resources of the Middle East” ranging from 62 percent in Pakistan to nine in 10 in Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Jordan, and the Palestinian territories.
Views of al Qaeda are complex. Majorities agree with nearly all of al Qaeda’s goals to change US behavior in the Muslim world, to promote Islamist governance, and to preserve and affirm Islamic identity.
Pakistan –
soon to be recognized for what it is –
a failed state:
2011
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US drones last week fired rockets at camps run by Mehsud’s network, the New York Times reported, saying further that another strike was aimed specifically at Mehsud, but he was not killed.
The strikes are a sign that new US President Barack Obama is continuing, and in some cases extending, the Bush administration policy of using American spy agencies against terrorism suspects in Pakistan, the New York Times said.
`This might have compelled Mr. Mehsud to reconcile with Mr. Bahader and Mr. Nazir who are already enraged over increased US drone attacks which they believe are carried out with the support of Islamabad government,’ said Pakistani defence analyst Mahmood Shah.
`The development might help Afghan Taliban in their offensive against NATO troops in the coming spring because previously reluctant Mehsud will be able to dispatch more men and arms to Afghanistan under the new alliance,’ he added.
The CIA have carried out more than 30 drone attacks since September to eliminate dozens of Al Qaeda second-tier operatives, including Abu Jihad al-Masri and Usama al-Kini, believed to have helped the 1998 American Embassy bombings in East Africa and last year’s bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
● 52 militants killed in Pakistan attacks
● Mullah Omar orders Taliban to stop attacking Pakistan forces
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."l would recommend a reading of pepe escobar’s latest essay at asia times for a more detailed analysis of the symbiosis that exists between the deteriorating circumstances in pakistan and the misguided, on going policy, vis a vis afghanistan, that’s unfolding:
Backstage at the theater of ‘terror’
pakistan may well be on the cusp of becoming a failed state as idredit posits, but it’s the real problem…they’ve got nukes, and reasonably reliable delivery systems…we ignore the ramifications of the deteriorating situation, that we continue to exacerbate, at our, and many others’, peril.
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KHAR, Pakistan – Pakistan has beaten the Taliban in a major stronghold close to the Afghan border, is close to victory in another and expects to pacify most of the remaining tribal areas before the end of the year, commanders said.
The upbeat assessment of conditions in the arid, mountainous regions of Bajur and Mohmand follows international criticism of Pakistan for accepting a cease-fire with militants behind a bloody campaign in Swat Valley, just next to the tribal regions.
Pakistani Frontier Corp Col. Noman, facing camera, congratulates a tribe man during a ceremony marking their acceptance of the military in Barkhalozo town, in the Bajur tribal region, Pakistan.Taliban: female education is “un-Islamic”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
LAHORE (Pakistan) An official says eight members of Sri Lanka’s national cricket team have been wounded after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in Lahore.
Pakistan Cricket Board security official Nadeem Iqbal says the team members were injured near the Gaddafi stadium where they were due to arrive to play in the second test against Pakistan.
Five policemen have also been killed as the police van escorting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore was fired upon, confirms the police chief in Lahore. (and 25 policemen also wounded – Oui)
The Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan stands cancelled.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."