Tag: taliban

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Mullahs trying to ban laughter?

Mohammed Abbasi

Militants want ban on laughter, crying, says Chinese governor REUTERS The governor of China’s Xinjiang region. — Photo by Reuters   BEIJING: The governor of China’s restive region of Xinjiang wrote on Monday that Islamist militants were trying to ban laughter at weddings and crying at funerals, as he appealed to people to stamp out the “tumour” of extremism. Xinjiang has been beset by violence for years, blamed by the government on militants and separatists. Exiles and many rights groups say the real cause of the unrest is China’s heavy-handed policies, including curbs on Islam and the culture and language … Continue reading Mullahs trying to ban laughter?

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When the US leaves Afghanistan – what will happen?

Mohammed Abbasi

  Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in October, 2001 against Al-Qaeda and Taliban and within two months coalition forces had captured Kabul and Kandahar. The Taliban did not put up the expected resistance, instead fleeing to their villages and towns and a few over to Pakistan.  The US had not visualised the resurgence of the Taliban in the initial operational plan, so did not make any serious effort to secure the eastern and southern Pakhtun provinces of Afghanistan, the strongholds of the Taliban. By mid-2002 the US was confident of having secured Afghanistan and that Al-Qaeda was in Waziristan and Pakistan Army … Continue reading When the US leaves Afghanistan – what will happen?

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The return of Al-Qaeda

Mohammed Abbasi

Back in 2011 many thought Al-Qaeda was finished. Battered by America’s ferocious response to 9/11 and relentlessly targeted by drones, the organisation was gasping for breath. The death of Bin Laden, it seemed, delivered the final blow.And yet today Al-Qaeda is resurgent.The relative weakness of the Al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan is deceptive. The organisation’s strength now lies at the periphery. Today the Al-Nusra front controls huge tracts of Syrian territory. And there are signs that the jihadis there have learnt an important lesson: if they want the consent of the people, it’s best not to murder too many … Continue reading The return of Al-Qaeda

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Learning little from our desert infatuation

Mohammed Abbasi

  Islamabad diary Pakistan has still to recover from its last troop export to the holy kingdom. This was in the 1980s when Mard-e-Momin Gen Ziaul Haq was reconverting the Islamic Republic to Islam – or, to be accurate, his version of Islam. His understanding of Islam, understandably, was of the most primitive kind. Maulana Maudoodi he took to be his guide and, if imperfect memory serves, lectures on Maudoodi were dished out on Radio Pakistan. And we on whom these experiments in re-Islamisation were being carried out were helpless…because the spirit had been taken out of us and the … Continue reading Learning little from our desert infatuation

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Pakistani Taliban tactics spread silent fear

Mohammed Abbasi

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban’s strength lies in its evasiveness and its permeation across society. Through ratcheting up attacks on security personnel and common citizens inside Pakistan, they have largely dispelled the notion that were losing vitality in operations after the killing of their leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a November 2013 US drone strike. Indeed, they have grown more predatory and relentless since the elimination of their erstwhile leader.  The TTP after the death of Hakimullah, nominated a more unruly leader named Mullah Fazalullah who is a known hardliner even by TTP’s standards. He is a diehard opponent … Continue reading Pakistani Taliban tactics spread silent fear

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Al Qaeda militants moving from Pakistan to set up in Syria

Mohammed Abbasi

      A New York Times report has claimed that Al Qaeda militants and planners travelled from Pakistan to Syria where they are seeking to establish a base in order to carry out strikes against the United States and Europe in the future. Director of US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Brennan, recently expressed apprehensions over the issue before a House panel saying “we are concerned about the use of Syrian territory by the Al Qaeda organisation to recruit individuals and develop the capability to be able not just to carry out attacks inside of Syria, but also to use Syria … Continue reading Al Qaeda militants moving from Pakistan to set up in Syria

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It’s fun to shoot some people

Mohammed Abbasi

  On March 6 the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation HQ in Afghanistan announced that “at least five Afghan National Army personnel were accidentally killed this morning during an operation in eastern Afghanistan…An investigation is being conducted at this time to determine the circumstances that led to this unfortunate incident. Our condolences go out to the families of the ANA soldiers who lost their lives and were wounded.” There might be an investigation carried out, but its findings will never be published. There will be no evidence taken from Afghan soldiers. There will be no Afghan representation on the board of … Continue reading It’s fun to shoot some people

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Al-Qai’da aid project shows the way in Afghanistan

Mohammed Abbasi

World View: Corruption has blighted the torrent of dollars poured into the country by America since 2001 An Afghan acquaintance who had worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told me several years ago how an Afghan subcontractor had made a large profit from a contract to build and get running a tractor repair shop in Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan. Uruzgan, the home province of Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, was then a particularly dangerous place, but the subcontractor cunningly turned this to his advantage. The strong Taliban presence in the area meant that … Continue reading Al-Qai’da aid project shows the way in Afghanistan

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Lawrence of Saudi Arabia?

Mohammed Abbasi

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is not known for thinking, much for speaking. He is the one who received a stinging rebuke from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani after having presented a check worth $10 million. For Pakistan, similar callousness shown in an interview given by the prince to The Wall Street Journal in November last year has proven to be a constant source of headache. “Nawaz Sharif, specifically, is very much Saudi Arabia’s man in Pakistan,” claimed Mr Talal after having suggested that in case of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, his country could procure nuclear warheads from Islamabad. Since then, a … Continue reading Lawrence of Saudi Arabia?

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Cultural terrorism in the name of Islam

Mohammed Abbasi

  DESTROYING the imprints of history, culture and tradition can be termed ‘cultural terrorism.’ The recent attacks on cinemas in Peshawar and elsewhere weren’t simply acts of terrorism but also depict the mindset of the attackers: they wish to destroy diversity. Extremists in this part of the world want to not just snatch away the right to life, but also eliminate culture. The cinema still attracts poor folk.   These attacks affect the country’s dying cinema industry while depriving the working class of an easily accessible form of entertainment. But it’s not just the cinemas. Attacks such as those on … Continue reading Cultural terrorism in the name of Islam