Random balloons in the atmosphere

As the murder and mayhem spreads with virility - the drone attacks in the far north which kill, the regular demolition of schools in the various agencies of the NWFP, the on-going murder of underprivileged men, women and children in the bazaars of Peshawar, the killings in the military mosque in Rawalpindi, more killings in Lahore's Moon Market, and the ominous move south into Multan - the level of denial as to a truth that stares us in the face diminishes not a dot. The toll of death has been shattering over the past 10 days and while in no way can one condone the Taliban Tehrik attacks, at least one can glean some meaning from the Rawalpindi and Multan slayings as the military and security forces were targeted. But how can anyone explain why the Taliban take on those shopping with their meagre resources in the markets of our towns? The Rawalpindi high profile mosque murders were obviously a wake up call for the top layer of politicians and even provoked the passive president into a 20-minute helicopter outing to show his face at the bedside of a few of the survivors. It also spurred on the prime minister to attend a funeral. But how is it that the members of the party of the people find it impossible to show solidarity with the people? Why are they not at the homes of those left bereaved in Peshawar and Lahore, of the mourning awam? Meanwhile, over the airwaves, on the multiple TV channels, with their fixed (in all ways) anchors and the rotating 'experts', politicos and retired servicemen prevailing, and in the columns of the national press loony rumours and conspiracy theories bloom and blossom, they thrive in the minds of those predisposed to believe them. They tap into pre-existing beliefs and biases - into the minds of those who want to believe though facts on the ground should tell them otherwise. They offer simplified explanations that pander to bigotry, intolerance and to a certain extent xenophobia. Sabrina Tavernese writing in The New York Times on December 05 found that in Pakistan she encountered "an anti-Americanism whose depth and intensity I could not fully grasp. So to find out where Pakistan's head was, I sought help from one of the country's top psychiatrists. "What I got was not so much an explanation as an illustration, in all its anger, of the embittered language in which a great many Pakistanis discuss their relationship with America - living proof of just how different America's understanding of Pakistan is from its own view of itself. 'The real terrorists are not the men in turbans we see on Al-Jazeera,' said the psychiatrist, Dr Malik H Mubbashar, Vice Chancellor of the University of Health Sciences in Lahore. 'They are wearing Gucci suits and Brit hats. It's your great country, Madam.' "I asked him to spell it out. 'It's coming from Americans, Jews and Indians,' he said. 'It's an axis of evil that's being supervised by you people.' This is not such an unusual view in Pakistan, even if the tone was particularly harsh." Indeed it is not unusual. We hear it on a daily basis, and we read it, emanating from a variety of sources, few of which can be deemed uneducated, unenlightened (though mistakenly) or ignorant of facts. No amount of intellectual reasoning can deal with such a powerful economy with the truth. With all this going on, the Pakistan army, albeit at the behest of the US, is valiantly struggling to contain the Taliban elements in the north. The army is fighting whilst the politicians are squabbling over the spoils that have been made available to them through decades of a void of any form of accountability whilst holding office. How is the fighting man supposed to commit himself to saving his country when he is exposed to the fact that the politicians and administrators who are constitutionally in control of his fate have ripped apart his country's assets, pocketed a healthy chunk, and are still in the process of doing so? What is the motivation of the army, for what does it fight. We heard General Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff, speak to the injured in the December 04 Pindi mosque massacre: "Pakistan is our motherland. It is the bastion of Islam. We live and die for the glory of Islam and Pakistan. Our faith, resolve and pride in our religion and in our country is an asset, which is further reinforced after each terrorist incident." This was the second time in a few days that Kayani had categorically emphasised his version of the identity of the country. Yet earlier, last month, he was quoted as having boldly stated: "I have full faith and conviction that we, as a nation of 170 million people, have the will and resolve to surmount these challenges. The nation stands fully united to confront these challenges and ensure that the Pakistan of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Muhammad Iqbal is restored to its rightful identity." After 62 years, Pakistan is still searching for an identity. It was created under the banner of the Muslim landlords, who later, after Muhammad Ali Jinnah died, were reinforced by the clergy (not recognised in Islam). The protectors of obscurantism have always held sway over the itinerant few who have grasped their way to power and have come and gone. Between them, they have guaranteed that the people have been held in a vice of ignorance coupled with superstition. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: jilani.amina@gmail.com