This was sent by a member to the editorial collective of Dimension. I am posting it more widely. 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. > > >
