Cheers, Ken Hanly
----- Original Message ----- >
>
>
> Six Days After
>
> How do ordinary Pakistanis feel?
>
> By: Farooq Tariq
> general secretary Labour Party Pakistan
>
> I am writing this mail from Toba Tek Singh, my home town, 300 kilometers
> away
> from Lahore, situated in the central Punjab. It is mainly a peasant
> dominated
> area. No big feudal and main income of this area comes from the crops like
> cotton, wheat, sugarcane and maize, etc. In the Seventies, It was once a
hub
> of peasant movement led by the Stalinist Left. On 23rd march 1970, over
> 500,000 attended a peasant conference in the town.
>
> Now the town is in the grip of religious fundamentalists. On the main
center
> of the town, we see the paintings of the myrters (those youth who have
been
> killed during the "holy" war of Kashmir during the last few years). Many
> religious madrasas (schools) can be found at every street corner.
>
> The religious fundamentalist have not yet taken over the town by vote, as
> Pakistan Peoples party and Muslim League, the two main bourgeoisie parties
> still have the majority. But the street power is in the hand of the
> religious
> fundamentalist. Many working class youth have been recruited during the
past
> years by the Jihadi (holy war) organisation to fight in Afghanistan and
> Kashmir. The youth finding no possibility of jobs, can at least find the
> basic
> ness cities at the religious schools and in the training camps.
>
>
> I was told by Javaid Hashmi, the central president of Muslim League, in an
> informal chat, during the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy meeting on
> 15th september that he is been invited many times during the month to
visit
> those families who sons have become myrters (Killed during the "holy" war)
> in
> Kashmir. Hashmi told me that when he arrives at a certain house, he is
been
> asked not to condole but to congratulate the family for this great
> achievement. Then the sweets are brought to be taken as a gesture of the
> happiness of the family. So does the whole village from where these youth
> normally comes. Javed Hashmii comes from Multan, a city around 100
kilometer
> from my home town Toba Tek Singh. It is same sad story of most of the
> central
> and Southern Punjab areas from where the bulk of the recruits come for
these
> religious organisations.
>
> I was in Lahore for four days after the Tuesday terrorist attack on
American
> cities. At Lahore, the mood among many workers and ordinary citizens were
of
> joy and happiness that the Americans have been taught the lessons at last.
> But
> there was also a sympathy for those been killed in the terrorist attack.
It
> was not a mood of fanaticism of all out support for the religious
> fundamentalist. The ARD two days meeting on 14,15 September, condemned the
> attacks but also a warning to Americans that they should not attack the
> innocent citizens of Afghanistan. The All Parties Conference organised by
> the
> Jamaat-i-Islami on 16th September, which Labour party pakistan and Peoples
> Party boycotted gave a more threatening warning to Americans for any
> possible
> attack.
>
> But at Toba Tek Singh, the mood was of fanaticism. As I arrived here after
> six
> hours of driving from Lahore to see my aging father, I was bombarded with
> questions by him. A trader all his life, now fighting with the banks to
give
> back the loans he has once taken in the hope that the agriculture income
> will
> be better but disappointed al the time. All his initiatives to enhance his
> ever decreasing income went no where. All his life, he remained loyal to
> Muslim League, a conservative bourgeoisie party.
>
> When I condemned the attacks and also told what could happen to the Talban
> government in future, and that the act has endangered the lives of the
> Muslims
> across the glob, he was untouched and told me that you could be the only
one
> talking this in the town. No one would support you here, he told me. He
was
> of
> the view that Talban will teach another historic lessons to the Americans
> that
> the military regime in Pakistan have a little time left in power as they
are
> playing at the hands of the American. He said I am very happy what has
> happened in America. IMF and World Bank has destroyed my life and I am in
> the
> grip of the banks as my whole agric business has been destroyed by these
> institutions. He told that I can not afford to pay the price of the
> pesticides
> as the state subsidies are gone and his orange garden has been ruined by
> that.
> He told me that the whole town is happy about the incidents.
>
> I spoke to Mamma ( his real name is Mohammed Sadiq but he is know as
mumma).
> He is a peasant working at the land on monthly wages. Mumma told me that
> some
> one at last has taught a lesson to the most powerful nations on the earth.
> How
> this could happen? I asked him, He told me that it is the work of God, no
> one
> can intervene.
>
> Today, on 17th September, I went to my village Chack Number 291,
> Lahorianwala,
> where I was born, I spoke to one of my cousin Afzal. He has small shop on
> the
> main road selling the little grocery items he has and buying from the
> village
> women their share of the crops, they will get after the whole day of work.
> The
> village women are not paid in cash but some of the cotton for example they
> will pick during the whole day of work. They will bring this to the shops
> like
> Afzal, get some grocery and the remaining in cash. Afzal told me that
There
> is
> no way Talban will be defeated by the Americans. How can they defeat the
> Talban when they can not defend their own cities? he asked. It is great
what
> has happened. He also told me that many will take out demonstrations if
> American will attack Pakistan or Afghanistan. "There is a great
haterdnesss
> against the military capitulation at the hands of Americans among us" he
> told.
>
>
> There were few more sitting there and had the same feelings as Afzal.
>
> Six days after the Tuesday attacks on American cities, it seems that
> generally
> many are happy and feel the pride that at last some one has done the job,
> they
> should be doing. It shows an utmost haterdness against the American
> Imperialism among the general masses. But the mood is turning in favor of
> the
> fundamentalists. Once the attack by the Americans starts here, the
military
> regime will face an extra ordinary situation of demonstrations and rallies
> against the attacks led by the religious fundamentalist.
>
> One villager told me that the incident of America is like this that if a
> peasant gets up in a village and fight against the feudal lord with no
> weapons. No one in the village ever thought of fighting against the feudal
> before. Then this peasant win the fight, the whole village peasants will
be
> very happy. So is America, a big feudal lord of the world who have lost
the
> fight at the hands of some one without any resources, we must celebrate.
> Whenever I raised the issue of innocent American loosing the lives, the
> normal
> reaction was, yes we sympathies, but what about those millions of
> Palestinians, Sudanese, Vietnamese and others who have lost the lives at
> their
> hand. Who support Israel? is another questions raised immediately by every
> one.
>
> It is very clear we the progressive forces are among very few who have to
> condemn terrorism, individual or state level.
>
>
>