Speech by Sardar Attaullah Mengal in the
Seminar on Positioning Pakistan in “War Against Terrorism”

<sup>Distinguish Guests
Honorable colleagues on stage,
Ladies and Gentleman

Let me first thank you all for having accepted the invitation of this forum to participate in today’s function.</sup>

^{The issue under discussion, no doubt, pertains to no single country but some how or the other involves the whole globe in general, leaving no one on the surface of the earth, not to be concerned. But the degrees of concern do vary from country to country. Before I go in to the merits and demerits of operation in Afghanistan, let me first condemn the 11th September incident and express my deepest sympathies to the families of all those who perished in that incident and also my condemnation of all human miseries in Afghanistan.}

^{It is not enough to condemn the 11th September incident and mourn the dead in Afghanistan. I think we owe more then that, to fellow human beings. We must try to find the root cause of such mishaps and try to undo them for future safety. If we cannot stop such incidents altogether, let us at least find a way out to minimize them.}

^{I don’t think we have gathered here to please or scold any one just for the sake of satisfying our ego. We have to find the root cause of such tragedies in the light of their ground realities, and try to rectify them in future.}

^{One dose not have to do much fatigue to find out a common reason behind such scenarios. It had always been, and still is, the only cause for such tragedies, “the injustices of the highest order of human beings to fellow human beings”, which include the materiel, moral, humanitarian values and even the right to survive. The irony is that more, “civilised” we claim the more heinous type of injustice we often commit. It is the result of such injustice which breeds frustration and frustration generates insanity resorting to terrorism.}

^{If you want to look into this particular incident we have to go back into its historical background. We will find here that those who are condemning the fundamentalism today were the creators and supporters of it, yesterday. The civilized Might of the West is solely responsible for bringing fundamentalism into being to counter communism (because it suited their interest). They opposed secularism vehemently even though they were secular them-selves.}

^{It is high time to refer one of the latest tragic episodes as an example. Here we are again refusing to learn from our mistakes and repeating them again. We can witness today, the civilized world lined up in a single row in committing the most heinous crimes and inhumane acts ever-committed in human history. What we could see from the photographs and stories printed in the western media leaves a big scar on the face of the civilized world. How could they escape the blame of butchering prisoners in Qalai Janghi jail through aerial bombardment killing all the inmates. This is quite an attempt to leave not a single witness behind to relate how and why that happened. This brings one to a conclusion that there could have been number of incidents like that, which must have gone unnoticed by the world. I can only call it a deliberate act of vengeance of a “superior” culture to fellow human beings of “inferior” culture. “Hats off to you for your love for human values, - you Developed Materialistic World”!.}

^{Talibans were also the creation of the West through Pakistan’s ISI (inter services intelligence), they were allowed to stampede all the human values and grow monstrous.}

^{All the Governments of Pakistan one after the other whether so called democratic or dictatorial had to tow the line of ISI to support fundamentalists in Afghanistan. Saudi funds were pouring in Pakistan to build new Maderessahs (religious schools with boarding and lodging facilities) in order to brain wash and recruit new Talibans for an Afghanistan which would serve their purpose. Not that West was unaware of all this.}

^{Pakistan as usual was taken for granted to be their old stooge and blind follower as you can see for yourself today. The Afghans who are the indigenous citizens of an independent Afghanistan were left at the discretion of ISI to maneuver as and when needed. During this period the Talibans grew too big in their boots to take dictates from any body, thus shattering the future planes of the West for which they were so well nourished. Now comes the turning point, where those who nourished and brought up the fundamentalists had to turn their guns towards their own protégés. Who betrayed whom is left for the future historians to comment!. I don’t want to consume much of your time further on this point. I would rather go straight to the bone of contention which is the root cause of this conflict.}

^{USA and Russia are both more then interested in the vast underground resources of Central Asian states. They were desperate to find a route for the export of oil, gas and other mineral wealth. The route runs through one end to the other of Afghanistan. They had done their level best to pursue the Afghans for a safe route but to no avail. This fruitless efforts brought the Western World to the conclusion that short of using brut force it was impossible to achieve their objective. Thus the 11th September incident provided them reasons to fulfill their mission.}

^{This carpet bombing and other military operations are meant to pave the way for the safe passage of the route to Central Asian states. I don’t mention Pakistan here because it never had a foreign policy of its own worth mentioning. It has rather a very poor track record of dealing with its own, people callously in Sindh, Balochistan and Pashtunistan. They have a long history of hunting with the hound, and running with the hare. So the blame will always lye with those who will trust him.}

^{The tragedy is, that all this did not produce the required results. The conflict of the interest of various states started appearing on the scene when the curtains were drawn. USA considers it self the only hero and the mightiest of all in this achievement. Therefore he expects more then the loins share of the booty. Russia with its geo-economic situation and traditional background is liable to feel it difficult to concede to American designs. This will trigger off another intrigue through the local population and end up in another free for all chaotic Afghanistan. After the settling of the dust of the carpet bombing in Afghanistan we might be witnessing another civil war in Afghanistan.}

^{In case Russia and USA agree in sharing the booty there will be a third party required to provide them access to warm waters for their export. At the moment the authority to such excess belongs to either Iran or Pakistan.}

^{Iran is in a position to strike a deal and fulfill it too. But for Pakistan he has to settle its account with the people of Balochistan first before declaring the route safe, other wise it will be a long drawn conflict between Pakistan and the Baloch people which is bound to delay the declaring the route safe. We plead for no justice from either of the beneficiaries, as we know that the term justice and fair play had no meaning for those who could do without it (Russia and USA).
If Pakistan does not recognize the rights of the Baloch people on the soil of Balochistan, the excess route to warm waters will have to pass through the streams of Baloch blood. It may taste sweet to the callous Punjab (Pakistan) but we will see to it that they don’t fall short in supply to their urge.}

<sup>I am afraid we are heading towards more human miseries if precautions are not taken.
         
            Thank you

on Sunday, December 2nd, 2001

Organizers: World Sindhi Congress & Baloch Voice (Sindhi Baloch forum)</sup>

< Back >