The fact that a coyote court in USA indicts someone does not
make a premeditated murder a legitimate execution. It remains an assassination ordered
by the US president. Even a mass-murderer deserves a fair trial.
It seems that American policies in this part of the world
are based on an upside-down perception of realities. Neither the Afghan Taliban
nor the TTP are militant cults anymore. Thanks to sustained conflict with
extremist Christians and Hindus both have become popular movements. The TTP has
more than 50 constituencies and it now has a stable pyramidal structure.
Killing its top man will hardly make any more difference than the murder of a
US president makes to that country. It was the realization of this fact that
prompted the Pakistani leadership to treat them with some respect and negotiate
peace with them.
The problems that the world is faced with today arise from a
single cause that the political, economic and military leaderships of the USA
are not on the same page. The thoughtful political leader ship is a hostage of
the rash military and the economy is too dependent on military production and
support. Even oil prices are being maintained at unacceptable levels throughout
the world to keep the US shale business viable. The mystery of the standoff
between the presidency and the house on budget is not over and horror may be
yet to come.
The American addiction to bloodshed and arson cannot be
justified in terms of sustained pursuit of retribution. If that were so, why do
they expect the Japanese to forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the Palestinians
to forget Sabra and Shatilla? Believe me when ever colonial rule is discussed
in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, someone always reminds the audience of the
Jalianwala Bagh massacre by the British as history and not as a mission for
revenge.
One thing is obvious: the Americans are not reliable
friends. The question now faced by the Pakistani leadership is whether it is
preferable to have them as friends or enemies?
