الله کا شکر ہے کہ میں طالبان کی قید میں تھی!

الله کا شکر ہے کہ میں طالبان کی قید میں تھی!



"اگر کسی اور قوم کی قید میں ہوتی تو میرا حال گوانٹاناموبے او رابو غریب جیل کے قیدیوں جیسا ہوتا، مجھے اسلام کی دشمنی افغانستان لے گئی، مگر اسلام میری آخری تمنا بن گیا"

ون ریڈلی وہ برطانوی صحافی خاتون ہیں جو 28 ستمبر2000ء کو خفیہ طور پر افغانستان میں داخل ہوتے ہوئے طالبان کی قید میں چلی گئی تھیں اور 10 دن تک طالبان کی قید میں رہیں۔ اسی قید نے انہیں کفر کی زندگی سے آزادی دلوائی۔ قید سے آزاد ہونے کے بعد انہوں نے اسلام کا مطالعہ کیا اور عیسائیت کو ترک کرکے اسلام قبول کر لیا۔ آج کل وہ اسلام اورامت مسلمہ کے مسائل کی انتہائی سرگرم ترجمان ہیں، وہ کہتی ہیں کہ میں چاہتی ہوں جدھر بھی جاؤں اسلام کی روشنی پھیلا دوں اور اسلام کے لیے لوگوں نے جو تعصب کی آ گ پھیلا دی ہے اسے بجھادوں۔

ون ریڈلی لندن کے اخبار”سنڈے ٹائمز“ میں ایک صحافی کی حیثیت سے کام کرتی تھیں۔ جب امریکی وبرطانوی فوج کی طرف سے افغانستان پر حملہ ہونے والا تھا تو رپورٹنگ کے لیے انہوں نے اپنے اخبار کو افغانستان جانے کی پیش کش کی۔ پاکستان پہنچنے کے بعد انہوں نے افغانستان کا ویزا حاصل کرنے کی کوشش کی، مگر کامیابی نہ ملی، لیکن انہوں نے افغانستان جانے کا پختہ ارادہ کر لیا تھا، اس لیے ایک افغانی کی مدد سے جعلی شناختی کارڈ بنواکر وہ افغانستان میں داخل ہوگئیں۔ ان کا گائیڈ جب ان کو اپنے گاؤں لے کر گیا تو وہاں کے لوگوں نے بڑی محبت سے ون ریڈلی کا استقبال کیا۔ گاؤں والوں کو جب یہ پتا چلا کہ ریڈلی ایک مغربی عورت ہے تو وہ ڈر گئے، کیوں کہ وہاں بلا اجازت غیر ملکیوں سے رابطہ رکھنا جرم تھا لیکن اپنی روایتی میزبانی نے ان کو ریڈلی کے ساتھ اچھا برتاؤ کرنے پر مجبور کر دیا۔ ان کی میزبانی سے فارغ ہو کر ریڈلی اپنے گائیڈ کے ساتھ وہاں سے آگے روانہ ہو گئیں۔ کچھ دور وہ دونوں پیدل چلے، اس کے بعد گائیڈ نے ون ریڈلی کو خچر پر سفرکرنے کو کہا۔ ریڈلی نے سوچا پہاڑی راستے پر چلنے سے بہتر ہے کہ وہ خچر پر بیٹھ جائیں۔ ان کے خچر پر بیٹھتیہی وہ بد کا اور اس نے دوڑ لگا دی اورکچھ دور جاکر رک گیا۔ ون ریڈلی نے دیکھا کہ وہاں مقامی لباس میں ملبوس ایک مسلح شخص کھڑا ہے، وہ ایک خوب صورت نوجوان تھا، جس کے چہرے پر داڑھی تھی ، وہ ون ریڈلی کے گلے میں جھولتے کیمرے کو دیکھ کر سمجھ گیا کہ وہ ایک صحافی ہیں۔ اس شخص جس کا مجھے کچھ دیر بعد علم ہوا کہ وہ طالبان فوجی ہے نے کیمرہ ان سے لے لیا اور خچر سے اترنے کو کہا ، اسی اثنا میں وہاں پر اور بھی مسلح طالبان آگئے۔

ون ریڈلی کہتی ہیں کہ ” میں نے سوچا اس وقت میں دنیا کے سب سے ظالم اور شیطان طالبان کی قید میں ہوں ، اب پتہ نہیں وہ میرا کیا حشر کریں گے؟ “ مسلح لوگ ان کے گرد جمع ہو گئے، لیکن نہ کسی نے انہیں ہاتھ لگایا اور نہ کسی نے ان سے کوئی بات کی ۔ پھر ان کو اپنے پیچھے آنے کا کہہ کر وہ آگے بڑھے۔ ایک مقام پر رک کر کھڑے ہو گئے ، وہاں پر بہت سے پتھر پڑے ہوئے تھے۔ ون ریڈلی نے سوچا شاید ان کو سنگسار کیا جائے گا۔ اتنے میں شور اٹھا، ایک آدمی ایک خاتون کے ساتھ ادھر ہی آرہا تھا۔ اس عورت نے آتے ہی ون ریڈلی کے جسم کو ٹٹولنا شروع کیا۔ پتہ چلا کہ یہ لوگ یہاں رک کر اسی عورت کا انتظار کر رہے تھے کہ وہ آکر اس کی تلاشی لے سکے۔ ون ریڈلی کہتی ہیں کہ اس وقت میں نے سوچا کہ میں دنیا کے مہذب ترین ملک کی شہری ہوں، لیکن وہاں کسی عورت کی جامہ تلاشی کے لیے اس بات کا خیال نہیں رکھا جاتا، یعنی عموماً مرد سیکورٹی اہلکار ہی خواتین کی جامہ تلاشی لیتے ہیں اور یہ دنیا کے سب سے جاہل اور ظالم فوجی اس بات کا خیال کر رہے ہیں کہ ایک عورت کی جامہ تلاشی مرد نہ لے، بلکہ ایک عورت ہی لے ۔ تلاشی کے دوران ون ریڈلی نے اپنے کپڑے اوپر اٹھا دیے تو وہاں موجود تمام لوگ اپنا چہرہ دوسری طرف کرکے کھڑے ہو گئے۔

گرفتاری کے بعد ون ریڈلی نے اس گروہ کے ایک فرد سے سٹیلائٹ فون کا مطالبہ کیا، تاکہ وہ اپنے گھر اور دفتر والوں کو اپنی گرفتاری کی اطلاع دے سکیں۔ ان کے انکار پر ریڈلی نے بھوک ہڑتال کر دی۔ ون ریڈلی کا خیالی تھا کہ دنیا کی سب سے ظالم فوج کو ان کی بھوک ہڑتال کی کیا پروا ہو گی؟ لیکن وہ لوگ اس کی بھوک ہڑتال سے پریشان ہو گئے اور طرح طرح سے ان کی بھوک ہڑتال ختم کرانے کی کوشش کرنے لگے ، پھر ایک بزرگ آئے ، وہ ون ریڈلی کو انگریزی میں سمجھانے لگے اور ان کے کھانے سے مسلسل انکار پروہ رونے لگے۔

بھوک ہڑتال کے دوران ایک دن ان کی طبیعت خراب ہو گئی تو ان کے لیے فوراً ڈاکٹر کو بلایا گیا۔ جس فوج کے بارے میں ون ریڈلی نے سن رکھا تھا کہ یہ دنیا کی سب سے ظالم اور شیطانی فوج ہے، ان کے اس رویے سے وہ بہت حیران تھیں۔ ایک دن ان کا ترجمان ان کے پا س آیا ،جو انگریزی جانتا تھا، اس نے ان سے کہا کہ ایک بہت بڑی شخصیت ان سے ملنے آرہی ہے ، ترجمان نے ان سے یہ بھی کہا کہ ان سے کوئی بدتمیزی نہ کرنا۔ اس کے جانے کے تھوڑی دیر بعد دروازہ پردستک ہوئی ۔ یہ بھی ایک عجیب بات تھی کہ وہ ایک قیدی تھیں، لیکن دروازہ کھولنے کا اختیار اور چابی انہیں کے پاس تھی ، ون ریڈلی نے آگے بڑھ کر دروازہ کھولا، سامنے کھڑی شخصیت کو دیکھ کر وہ تھوڑی خوف زدہ ہو گئیں ، وہ ایک طویل القامت شخص تھا، اس کی لمبی داڑھی تھی اور اس نے لمبا چغہ پہن رکھا تھا، اس کے چہرے سے جیسے ایک نور نکل رہا تھا۔ وہ شخص اجازت لے کراندر داخل ہوا اور ون ریڈلی کا حال واحوال پوچھنے کے بعد اس نے اس سے اسلام کے بارے میں پوچھا۔ ریڈلی نے سوچا اگر اس کے سوال کا جواب نہ دوں گی تو رہائی مشکل ہو جائے گی، لہٰذا اس نے درمیانی بیان دیا کہ اسلام بہت اچھا مذہب ہے ، اسلام امن اورسلامتی کامذہب ہے۔ اس پر اس شخص نے کہا کہ تم اسلام کیوں قبول نہیں کر لیتیں ؟ ون ریڈلی نے سوچا کہ ابھی اسلام قبول کیا تو سمجھیں گے کہ دباؤ میں اسلام قبول کیا ہے، اس لیے اس نے چالاکی سے کہا کہ اگر مجھے رہا کر دو تو میں وعدہ کرتی ہوں کہ اسلام اور قرآن کا مطالعہ کروں گی۔ جاتے وقت اس شخص نے کہا، تم ان شاء الله جلد گھر چلی جاؤ گی۔

اگلی صبح کچھ فوجی آئے اور اسے لے کر چلے ۔ ون ریڈلی نے سوچا شاید اسے رہاکیا جارہا ہے، مگر وہ اسے خواتین کے قید خانے میں لے گئے۔ جب وہ وہاں داخل ہوئیں تو اس نے دیکھا کہ وہاں کچھ یورپی خواتین دائرہ بنائے با آواز بلند بائبل کا مطالعہ کر رہی ہیں۔ انہیں ان کی عبادت سے کوئی نہیں روک رہا تھا، کیوں کہ اسلامی مملکت میں غیر مسلموں کو اپنی عبادت کرنے کی مکمل آزادی ہے، البتہ وہ اپنے دین کی تبلیغ نہیں کرسکتے۔ ون ریڈلی نے سگریٹ پینا چاہا تو ان خواتین نے بتایاکہ نو اسموکنگ ایریا ہے، یہاں مرد اور عورت کوئی سگریٹ نہیں پیتے۔ ایک دن ون ریڈلی نے ایک افسر کے سامنے تھوک دیا، افسروں کو برا بھلا کہنا تو اس کا معمول تھا، ون ریڈلی کو لگا کہ تھوکنے کی وجہ سے اسے سزائے موت ضرور دے دی جائے گی۔ ایک شخص نے کہا کہ تم نے ہمارے لیڈر کے ساتھ بدتمیزی کی ہے، جس کی سزا تمہیں ضرور ملے گی اور تمہاری سزا یہ ہے کہ آج سبھی قیدی اپنے اپنے گھر فون کریں گی، مگر تمہیں فون کرنے کی اجازت نہیں ملے گی ۔ دنیا میں مشہور ”ظالم“ حکومت نے یہ سزا اسے دی تھی۔

ون ریڈلی اپنی قید کے دوران ہوئے ایک دلچسپ واقعہ کو اس طرح سناتی ہیں کہ ” ہماری جیل میں مرد کم ہی آتے تھے، بس قید خانہ کے دروازہ پر مرد پہرے دار رہتے تھے۔ ایک بار میں نے اپنا زیر جامہ دھو کر سکھانے کے لیے قید خانے کے ایک حصے میں پھیلا دیا۔ کچھ دیر بعد ایک افسر میرے پاس آیا اور زیر جامہ وہاں سے ہٹانے کو کہا، میں نے ہٹانے سے صاف انکار کر دیا، اس پر انہوں نے ایک کپڑا اس کے اوپر ڈالوا دیا، لیکن مجھے انہیں پریشان کرنے میں مزا آتا تھا، میں نے وہ کپڑا اوپر سے ہٹا دیا اور کہا ، تمہارا دماغ خراب ہو گیا ہے، اگر ان کے اوپر کپڑاڈال دو گے تو یہ خشک کیسے ہو گا؟ کچھ دیر بعد میں نے دیکھا ایک شخص میرے پاس آیا، تعارف کرایا گیا کہ یہ افغان نائب وزیرخارجہ ہیں۔ انہوں نے بھی مجھ سے میرے زیر جامہ وہاں سے ہٹانے کا مطالبہ کیا اور کہا کہ یہاں ہمارے پہرے دار ہوتے ہیں، اس کی وجہ سے انہیں فاسد خیالات آسکتے ہیں ۔ اس وقت میں سوچتی رہی کہ یا خدا! یہ کیسے لوگ ہیں؟ چند گھنٹوں بعد امریکا وبرطانیہ بھرپور طاقت کے ساتھ ان کے ملک پر حملہ کرنے والے ہیں اور یہ صرف اس خوف سے مجھ سے میرے کپڑے ہٹانے کے لیے گفت گو کرنے آرہے ہیں کہ کہیں ان کے پہرے داروں کے دل میں فاسد خیالات نہ آجائیں۔

امریکی حملے کے دوسرے روز طالبان فوجی ون ریڈلی کے پاس آئے اورکہا کہ ہم تمہیں حفاظت کے ساتھ پاکستان پہنچا دیتے ہیں ۔ ون ریڈلی حیران تھیں کہ یہ کیسے لوگ ہیں،موت ان کے سروں پر کھڑی ہے اور یہ اسے حفاظت سے یہاں سے باہر نکالنے کی فکر میں ہیں؟ اس کے بعد وہ بحفاظت اُسے سرحد تک لائے اور پاکستانی حکام کے حوالے کر دیا۔

ون ریڈلی کہتی ہیں کہ میں الله کا شکر ادا کرتی ہوں کہ میں طالبان کی قید میں تھی، اگر کسی اور قوم کی قید میں ہوتی تو میرا حال گوانٹاناموبے اور ابو غریب جیل کے قیدیوں جیسا ہوتا۔ ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی کا حال دیکھ کر وہ الله کا شکر ادا کرتی ہیں کہ وہ امریکا کی قید میں نہیں تھیں۔ ڈاکٹر عافیہ صدیقی کی رہائی کے لیے ون ریڈلی نے ان کی بہن فوزیہ صدیقی کے ساتھ کئی بار پریس کانفرنس میں حصہ لیا۔

ون ریڈلی نے قید کے دوران طالبان سے وعدہ کیا تھا کہ رہا ہونے کے بعد قرآن کریم کا مطالعہ کروں گی اس لیے آزادی نصیب ہونے کے بعد انہوں نے قرآن کریم کا مطالعہ شروع کیا، ساتھ ہی اسلام میں انسانی حقوق اور عورت کے مقام کو بھی جاننا شروع کیا، طویل مطالعہ کے بعد انہیں معلوم ہوا کہ اسلام وہ واحد دین ہے جس نے عورتوں کو سب سے زیادہ حقوق دیے ہیں۔

ون ریڈلی جون2002ء میں کلمہ شہادت پڑھ کر اسلام کے دائرے میں شامل ہو گئیں۔ وہ کہتی ہیں کہ مجھے اسلام دشمنی کے لیے افغانستان بھیجا گیا تھا، مجھے کیا پتہ تھا کہ اسلام میرے لیے آخری تمنا بن جائے گا اورمیری زندگی اسلام کے لیے وقف ہو جائے گی۔ الله تعالیٰ میرا حامی وناصر ہو اورمجھے راہ حق پر قائم رکھے۔ آمین

ون ریڈلی نے ایک کتاب بھی لکھی
 (In the hands of taliban) 

طالبان کی جانب سے جنسی ہتھکنڈوں کا استعمال اسلام سے متصادم پاکستانی سرگرم کارکنوں نے نو عمر افراد پر جنسی حملوں یا انہیں جنسی طور پر ابھارنے کے ذریعے ان سے زیادتی کے امکان کی مذمت کی ہے۔

دیر کا نوٹ: عسکریت پسندوں کی جانب سے نوجوانوں کو خودکش مشنوں کے لیے بھرتی کرنے کے غیر اخلاقی طریقے اپنانا کوئی نئی بات نہیں ہے۔ تاہم جنسی زیادتی سے متعلق منظر عام پر آنے والی خبروں پر عوام میں تشویش بڑھ رہی ہے۔ سینٹرل ایشیا آن لائن اس قسم کی کوششوں پر پائے جانے والے تحفظات پر نظر ڈال رہی ہے۔ آج کی رپورٹ اس چیز کا جائزہ لے گی کہ اس طرح کے ہتھکنڈے اسلامی تعلیمات سے کس طرح متصادم ہیں اور نوجوانوں کی جسمانی نشوونما کو نقصان پہنچا سکتے ہیں۔ ایک گزشتہ رپورٹ میں اس رویے کے نفسیاتی مضمرات کا جائزہ لیا گیا تھا۔

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  طالبان کے ایک مشتبہ تربیت کار یحیٰی (لکی مروت میں اپنی گرفتاری کے کچھ دیر بعد دکھائی دینے والا) کو گزشتہ سال نومبر میں گرفتار کیا گیا تھا۔ اس پر الزام ہے کہ وہ نو عمر لڑکوں کو خودکش بمبار بننے کی تربیت دینے کے لیے وزیرستان منتقل کرتا رہا ہے۔ عسکریت پسندوں کو تربیت دینے والے افراد کے بارے میں کہا جاتا ہے کہ وہ نو عمر لڑکوں کو جنسی تسکین کے وعدوں پر بھرتی کر رہے ہیں۔ [ظاہر شاہ]

پشاور – پاکستان کے سرگرم کارکنوں کا کہنا ہے کہ طالبان نو عمر لڑکوں کو جنت میں حوروں کے ساتھ جنسی لذت کے جن وعدوں پر بھرتی کرتے ہیں وہ اسلام اور قانون شریعت کی صریح خلاف ورزی ہیں اور یہ عمل ان بچوں کے ساتھ مکمل زیادتی کے مترادف ہے۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ اگرچہ طالبان کی جانب سے بچوں کو خودکش بم دھماکوں پر مجبور کرنے کی ہر سطح پر مذمت کی گئی ہے، مگر گروپ کی جانب سے آسانی سے متاثر ہو جانے والے نو عمر لڑکوں کو عسکریت پسند بنانے کے لیے جنسی ترغیبات کے استعمال کی حالیہ اطلاعات کہیں زیادہ قابل نفرت ہیں۔

یہ مذمت ٹورانٹو سے اردو زبان میں شائع ہونے والے اخبار لیڈر میں آنے والی ایک رپورٹ کے ردعمل میں سامنے آئی ہے۔ اس رپورٹ میں ایک نوجوان عسکریت پسند نے بتایا تھا کہ تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے تربیت کار فاحشہ عورتوں کو اجازت دیتے ہیں کہ وہ بچوں کو اپنے ساتھ جنسی فعل کی ترغیب دیں۔ اس رپورٹ کے بعد سینٹرل ایشیا آن لائن کی ایک رپورٹ میں بتایا گیا کہ عسکریت پسند بھرتی ہونے والے بچوں کو تربیتی کیمپوں میں بعض اوقات ہم جنس پرستی کی سرگرمیوں میں شامل ہونے پر مجبور کرتے ہیں۔

جنسی زیادتی دینی اصولوں کے خلاف ہے

ادارہ استحکام شراکتی کے خیبر پختونخواہ میں علاقائی رہنما ارشد ہارون نے کہا کہ کسی بھی شکل میں جنسی زیادتی نہ صرف اسلام بلکہ کسی بھی مذہب کی خلاف ورزی ہے۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ اسلام کے نام پر اس طرح کے گھناؤنے جرم کی کسی بھی مہذب معاشرے یا پتھر کے زمانے میں بھی کوئی اخلاقی حیثیت نہیں ہو گی۔ لیڈر کی رپورٹ میں 17 سالہ عبد الملک نے کہا تھا کہ بھرتی ہونے والے لڑکوں کی آنکھوں پر پٹی باندھ دی جاتی تھی یا انہیں ایک تاریک کمرے میں رکھا جاتا تھا جہاں خواتین انہیں جنسی فعل کے لیے لبھاتی تھیں۔

ہارون نے کہا کہ اسلام میں واضح درس دیا گیا ہے کہ کسی خاتون کو مردوں کو پیش کرنا، چاہے وہ کم عمر ہوں یا بالغ، ایک بڑا گناہ ہے۔

ایک مذہبی سیاسی جماعت جمعیت علماء اسلام فضل کے رہنما عبد الجلیل جان نے اس بات سے اتفاق کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اگر مرد اور عورت شادی کے معاہدے میں نہ بندھے ہوں تو انہیں ایک دوسرے کے قریب لانا اور جسمانی تعلقات بنانے کا موقع دینا مکمل طور پر حرام اور شریعت کے خلاف ہے۔ اس میں کوئی دوسری رائے نہیں ہے۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ عسکریت پسندوں کے رویے پر عوامی ردعمل لگی لپٹی رکھے بغیر ہونا چاہیے۔ یہ عام فہم بات ہے۔ ہر باشعور شخص اس کی مذمت کرے گا۔

نشوونما کے مسائل

دریں اثناء طبی پیشہ وروں کو اس طرح کے ہتھکنڈوں کے نو عمر افراد پر پڑنے والے جذباتی اور جسمانی اثرات کے بارے میں فکر لاحق ہے۔ پشاور کنٹونمنٹ بورڈ اسپتال کے ایک ماہر طب نفسی ڈاکٹر اکبر خان نے کہا کہ چھ سال کی عمر سے آغاز بلوغت تک بچوں میں اپنی جنسی اور تولیدی صحت کو تباہ کرنے کا خطرہ بہت زیادہ ہوتا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ نازک عمر میں جنسی ہیجان کو ابھارنے سے بچوں کے ہارمونی نظام کو بھی نقصان پہنچ سکتا ہے جس کے نتیجے میں صحت کے پیچیدہ مسائل پیدا ہو جاتے ہیں۔ دوسروں کی خوشی کے لیے اس طرح کی جنسی ہراسگی کے بچوں کی نشوونما پر تباہ کن اثرات مرتب ہو سکتے ہیں۔

یہ کہتے ہوئے انہوں نے واضح کیا کہ عسکریت پسند کیوں اس طرح کے ہتھکنڈے استعمال کرتے ہیں۔

اکبر نے کہا کہ بچوں کا ذہن پختہ نہیں ہوتا، انہیں کوئی رہنمائی نہیں ملتی اور ان کے جسمانی نظام بھی ابھی پختہ نہیں ہوئے ہوتے۔ ان کے دماغوں میں جب جنسی تسکین کا تصور ابھرتا ہے تو انہیں خودکش بم دھماکوں سمیت تشدد کے کسی بھی اقدام پر مائل کیا جا سکتا ہے کیونکہ ان کی ذہنی صحت انہیں اس طرح کی کارروائیوں کے بارے میں سوچنے کے قابل نہیں بناتی۔

ایک اور سماجی سرگرم کارکن نے کہا کہ مذہبی احکامات کی خلاف ورزی اور بچوں کی صحت کو پہنچنے والے نقصان کی وجہ سے عسکریت پسندوں کے اس ہتھکنڈے کی ہر جگہ مذمت کی جانی چاہیے۔

ماہر نفسیات برائے اطفال فرح ظاہر نے کہا کہ جنسی زیادتی کا نشانہ بننے والے بچوں کی شخصیت ٹوٹ پھوٹ کا شکار ہو جاتی ہے اور مذہب کے لبادے میں اس طرح کے گناہوں کا جواز پیش کرنا باعث شرم ہے

Taliban called hypocrites for using sex to recruit suicide bombers The Taliban's objectification of women degrades moral and cultural values, activists and officials say.

EDITOR'S NOTE: That the militants would resort to unscrupulous methods to recruit teens for suicide methods is nothing new. But emerging stories about sexual abuse are raising eyebrows. Central Asia Online is taking a look at the concerns raised by such practices. Today's story looks at how handlers use visions of heavenly maidens to inspire bombing recruits into carrying out attacks.

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  Bilal, 13, from the Bar Qambarkhel area of Bara, Khyber Agency, sits in a police van after authorities rescued him on the outskirts of Peshawar November 20 before he could complete a suicide mission. Police arrested his alleged handler too. [Zahir Shah]

PESHAWAR – When would-be suicide bomber Abdul Malik was travelling to his intended target, he noticed that his handler was driving erratically.

The car zigged and zagged along the road. Malik cried out in fear of crashing.

The handler laughed off Malik's worry and explained that he was driving that way to avoid killing the "heavenly maidens" who were running to be with Malik so they could reward him sexually for blowing himself up.

"I am trying to save these heavenly maidens for you, and each one of them is waiting to welcome you and is even running into our vehicle," he told Malik, who didn't see any maidens.

Malik's story came to light in a report in the Leader, an Urdu-language newspaper published in Toronto. Malik, a teenage would-be suicide bomber, told Pakistani investigators that the "heavenly maidens" incident was just one of the sex tools militants used to entice recruits into performing suicide attacks.

Police arrested Malik and the suspected handler near the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)-Punjab border before they reached the intended target.

Sexual exploitation erodes society's values

In preparing Malik for his suicide mission, trainers provided him and other recruits with women and encouraged him to have sexual interactions with them, which his trainers promised he would enjoy more fully after completing his mission, Malik recalled.

Such strategies are opening the militants up to criticism, with the Taliban opening themselves to accusations of hypocrisy for sexually exploiting women even though Islam calls for honouring them, Pakistani officials and activists say.

While the Taliban carry out their nefarious designs, many have not forgotten that the militants have a long history of oppressing women. And those critics question how the militants – who purport to extol the virtues of Islam – can justify the contradictory behaviour.

They cite militant attacks on women to illustrate the oppression. In August, for example, Afghan Senator Rogul Khairzad came under Taliban attack in Ghazni Province. She survived, but her driver and 8-year-old daughter were killed.

"On the one hand, they are stopping women from engaging in politics, receiving an education and even living their lives freely, while on the other they are using women as objects of war to trick youngsters to commit the evil deeds they are too afraid to do themselves," Dr. Tabinda Saroosh, a Karachi-based women's rights activist, told Central Asia Online.

Militant tactics under fire

Activists criticise the Taliban's methods for deceiving teenagers into completing suicide bombings.

"Objectifying women ... not only degrades human and cultural values, but the women are limited to being viewed as a sex object and an object of mere satisfaction and enjoyment, which contradicts our social and religious norms," Komal Khan, a Peshawar-based social activist, said.

Besides trying to inflame the libido of teen bombing recruits with actual women and imaginary "heavenly maidens" alike, the militants have molested the boys, observers and former victims say.

Such strategies are said to cause an array of psychological and other problems for the young recruits.

"Polluting minors' minds by subjecting them to such emotional [exploitation] before adulthood not only is destructive for society but ... negates [women's] identity," Komal said.

Musarrat Qadeem, a former KP information minister, agreed. And if the militants are resorting to such deplorable tactics, it is clear their ideology is failing, she said.

The Brutality of Taliban Killing a Man with 82 Mm Horrible

Taliban Executing people Intresting watch it

VIDEO OF TALIBAN EXECUTING 2 AFGHAN WOMENS

Americans Attack on haqqani Network in 2002

Post by Afghanistan 101.

Hakeem Ullah Mehshud

خبردار: ۔۔۔۔ اس ملعون پر کوئی لعنت نہ کرے ۔۔۔ خبردار: --- اس ظالم پر کوئی نہ تھوکے ۔۔۔ خبردار: --- اس یذیدی کی کوئی مذمّت نہ کرے ۔۔۔ جی ہاں؛ ۔۔ یہ اُسی ملعون دھشتگرد؛ حکیمُ اللہ محسود کی لاش ھے؛ جس نے:- درود و سلام کی پُرنور محافلوں اور جلوسوں پر خودکش حملے کروائے؛ اور ان تمام حملوں کی ذمّہ داری کو قبول کیا اور مذید حملے کرنے کا اعلان کیا؛ یہ وہی ملعون یذیدی ھے جس نے بُزرگان دین اور اولیاء اللہ کے مزارات کو شھید کرنے کی جسارت کی؛ یہ وہی مُلک دُشمن دھشتگرد ھے جس نے افواج پاکستان سمیت پولیس اور ہر مُلکی ادارے کو اپنی دھشتگردی کا نشانہ بنایا؛ اور ہزاروں کو شھید اور لاکھوں کو سوگوار بنایا یہ اُسی بے حس؛ بے ضمیر اور بے ایمان شخص کی لاش ھے جس نے نہتّے اور بیگُناہ عوام کو بازاروں اور مزاروں پر خودکش حملے کروا کر شھید کیا؛ اس ملعون نے اپنی بربیّت پھیلانے کیلیئے نہ عورتوں کو دیکھا نہ بچّوں کو؛ نہ جوانوں پر رحم کھایا اور ہی انھیں بُزرگوں کو شھید کر کے شرم آئی ۔۔۔ یہ اُسی ملعون جہنّمی کی لاش ھے جس نے پاکستان کے تقریباُ ہر خاندان میں نہ صف ماتم بچھوائی بلکہ اکثر کو زندگی کی رعنائیوں سے محروم کر دیا؛ یہ وہی ملعون ھے جس نے نہ صرف اس مُلک کا امن و سکون برباد کیا بلکہ دنیا بھر میں اسلام اور مُسلمانوں کی جگ ہنسائی اور بدنامی کا سبب بنا۔۔۔ اس پر لعنت کرنے سے کُچھ نہیں ھوگا؛ اگر کسی نے حقیقت میں کُچھ کرنا ھے تو اس ملعون دھشتگرد کے سیاسی؛ عسکری اور مذھبی حمایتیوں پر لعنت کرو؛ اس دھشتگرد ملعون کو "شھید" کہنے والوں کو واصل جہنّم کرو؛ اس نُطفہ حرام کے سیاسی؛ عسکری اور مذھبی ھمایتوں کو بے نقاب کرو ۔۔۔ میری قوم سے اپیل ھیکے ایسے ملعون و مردود یزیدی پیروکار کے حق میں جو شخص؛ ادارہ اور جماعت بیان دے؛ ایسے ہر شخص کا محاسبہ کریں؛ اُسکی ہر پلیٹفارم سے مُذمّت کریں اور اپنے عمل سے ایسے ہر افراد کا ناطقہ بند کر دیں۔۔ مزارات اور درود و سلام کی محافلوں پر حملے کرنے والا آج خود واصل جہنّم ھو گیا چُکا ھے؛ مر گیا محسود؛ نہ فاتحہ؛ نہ درود

Hakeem Ullah mahsood

حکیم اللہ محسود کی ہلاکت

…جویریہ صدیق… یکم نومبر کو شمالی وزیرستان کے علاقے ڈانڈے درپہ خیل میں ڈرون طیاروں کے حملے میں کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان حکیم اللہ محسود کی ہلاکت سے ایک بار پھر طالبان کو شدید دھچکا پہنچا ہے۔2004 میں کمانڈر نیک محمد ،2009 میں بیت اللہ محسود اور2013 میں مولوی نذیراور ولی الرحمان پہلے ہی ڈرون کا نشانہ بن چکے ہیں اور اب ایک بار پھر طالبان قیادت کو نشانہ بنایا گیا اور دو امریکی ڈرون حملوں نے حکیم اللہ محسود کے زیر استعمال ایک گاڑی اور ایک مکان کو نشانہ بنایا جس کے نتیجے میں کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے سربراہ حکیم اللہ محسودسمیت6افراد ہلاک ہو گئے۔ امریکا دو ہزار چار سے دو ہزار تیرہ تک تین سو چونسٹھ ڈرون حملے کرچکا ہے جس میں ایک اندازے کے مطابق بایس سو چوہتر عسکریت پسند مارے گیے ہیں۔ یکم نومبر کو ایک بار پھر اہم طالبان کمانڈر کو نشانہ بنایا گیا۔ پاکستانی طالبان کے لیڈر حکیم اللہ محسود پہلی مرتبہ 2007 میں پاکستان فوج کے خلاف حملوں کی وجہ سے منظر عام پر آئے اور دوہزار نو میں امریکی ڈرون حملے میں بیت اللہ محسود کی ہلاکت کے بعد حکیم اللہ محسود تحریک طالبان پاکستان کے سربراہ بنے۔حکیم اللہ محسود ایک بے رحم عسکریت پسند کے طور پر مشہور تھے۔جنوبی وزیرستان کے ایک گاؤں کوٹکی میں 1978ء میں پیدا ہونے والے حکیم اللہ محسود کسی تعلیمی ادارے سے باقاعدہ تعلیم یافتہ نہیں تھے تاہم انہوں نے ہنگو کے علاقے شاہو کے مدرسے میں کچھ عرصہ دینی تعلیم حاصل کی۔ تحریک کے امیر مقرر ہونے سے قبل وہ تین قبائلی ایجنسیوں خیبر، اورکزئی اور کرم ایجنسی کے کمانڈر بھی رہے چکے تھے۔حکیم اللہ محسود نے امیر کا عہدہ ملتے ہی دہشت گرد کارروائیاں تیز کردیں اور ملک بھر میں دہشت گردی درجنوں کارروائیاں کیں۔ پاکستانی عوامی حلقے اس ہلاکت کے ردعمل آنے کے حوالے سے خدشات کا شکار ہیں تاہم وہ مطمئن بھی نظر آتے ہیں لیکن وفاقی حکومت کو اس کا بات کا افسوس ہے کہ مجوزہ امن مذاکرات تعطل کا شکار ہو گئے ہیں۔ خیبر پختون خواہ کی صوبائی حکومت کی طرف سے خاصا سخت ردعمل آیا جس میں حکیم اللہ محسو د کی موت کو امریکا کی سازش قرار دیا گیا۔ آخری اطلاعات آنے تک خالد سجناں کو کالعدم تحریک طالبان پاکستان کا سربراہ چن لیا گیا ہے ۔ سوال یہ ہے کہ طالبان کی قیادت پاکستانی حکومت کے ساتھ مذاکرات کرے گی ؟؟ یا پھر ایک بار پھر آگ اور خون کا کھیل شروع ہوجایے گایہ تو آنے والا وقت ہی بتائے گا۔۔۔

Memory Loss and Taliban

Memory Loss & Office of The Taliban.

OCT 29, 2001: President George Bush recently boasted: "When I take action, I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive." President Bush should know that there are no targets in Afghanistan that will give his missiles their money's worth. Perhaps, if only to balance his books, he should develop some cheaper missiles to use on cheaper targets and cheaper lives in the poor countries of the world. But then, that may not make good business sense to the Coalition's weapons manufacturers. It wouldn't make any sense at all, for example, to the Carlyle Group—described by the Industry Standard as 'the world's largest private equity firm', with $12 billion under management. Carlyle invests in the defence sector and makes its money from military conflicts and weapons spending. Carlyle is run by men with impeccable credentials. Former US defence secretary Frank Carlucci is Carlyle's chairman and managing director (he was a college roommate of Donald Rumsfeld's). Carlyle's other partners include former US secretary of state James A. Baker III, George Soros, Fred Malek (George Bush Sr's campaign manager). An American paper—the Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel—says that former President George Bush Sr is reported to be seeking investments for the Carlyle Group from Asian markets. He is reportedly paid not inconsiderable sums of money to make 'presentations' to potential government-clients. Ho Hum. As the tired saying goes, it's all in the family. Then there's that other branch of traditional family business—oil. Remember, President George Bush (Jr) and Vice-President Dick Cheney both made their fortunes working in the US oil industry. Turkmenistan, which borders the northwest of Afghanistan, holds the world's third largest gas reserves and an estimated six billion barrels of oil reserves. Enough, experts say, to meet American energy needs for the next 30 years (or a developing country's energy requirements for a couple of centuries.) America has always viewed oil as a security consideration, and protected it by any means it deems necessary. Few of us doubt that its military presence in the Gulf has little to do with its concern for human rights and almost entirely to do with its strategic interest in oil. Oil and gas from the Caspian region currently moves northward to European markets. Geographically and politically, Iran and Russia are major impediments to American interests. In 1998, Dick Cheney—then CEO of Halliburton, a major player in the oil industry—said: "I can't think of a time when we've had a region emerge as suddenly to become as strategically significant as the Caspian. It's almost as if the opportunities have arisen overnight." True enough. For some years now, an American oil giant called Unocal has been negotiating with the Taliban for permission to construct an oil pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan and out to the Arabian Sea. From here, Unocal hopes to access the lucrative 'emerging markets' in South and Southeast Asia. In December 1997, a delegation of Taliban mullahs travelled to America and even met US State Department officials and Unocal executives in Houston.At that time the Taliban's taste for public executions and its treatment of Afghan women were not made out to be the crimes against humanity that they are now. Over the next six months, pressure from hundreds of outraged American feminist groups was brought to bear on the Clinton administration. Fortunately, they managed to scuttle the deal. And now comes the US oil industry's big chance. 

Talks with the Taliban and sleeping with the enemy

They claim that peace can be achieved through “peace talks” with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). DESIGN: EMA ANIS

The charged air of “change” in recent elections caused many political parties to promise an end to terrorism and a return to peace, albeit without a clear strategy as to how this would be achieved. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), parties that have otherwise engaged in name-calling and bitter rivalry, appear to agree on the necessity for peace in the region; peace that they claim can be achieved through “peace talks” with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
As a common Pakistani citizen, I would vouch that nobody of sound mind and loyalty to the country would oppose a policy of peace. However, the manner in which the process has been approached has raised eyebrows among the citizenry. The recent negative response from the TTP has only strengthened its resolve and temerity, drawing even more scepticism for the policy from concerned citizens.
The first of these concerns is the attempt of parties such as the PTI to appease the TTP by making flagrantly immature statements to the tune of, “we are not at war” with the Taliban, never mind that they have killed and terrorised thousands in the province that elected the party. Such an invitation for peace talks reeks of desperation and is an insult to the lives that have been lost and continue to be affected.
The second of these concerns is the apparent lack of understanding of the issue of terrorism from both the federal government and the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). During the elections, actions of extremism were sometimes termed a result of the “military campaign” that has ensued over the past decade, in affect blaming the military for the exacerbation of the situation. The newly elected government of K-P has blamed the absence of a clear federal policy as a reason for delays in the peace process. All parties have “condemned” drone strikes, claiming that they challenge the sovereignty of Pakistan and are ineffective in brokering and sustaining peace in the region.
With the issue of drone strikes aside, since it is a valid concern but involves another country and the dynamics are extremely complex from an economic and foreign policy perspective, all other issues pertain to a severe lack of communication. There is a dearth of analysis at an internal, multi-stakeholder level – something that is extremely detrimental to the peace process as one side of the negotiating table does not stand united and would sooner blame institutions than take collective responsibility for protecting the citizens of the country.
Furthermore, the assumptions upon which the single-tactic “peace talks” policy is based are worrisome. Political rhetoric urges us to believe that a handful of targeted external variables are causing the problem.
Stop drone strikes and the TTP will stop attacking innocent civilians.
Stop a military offensive and the TTP will back off.
Offer the TTP an olive branch and they will happily reciprocate because clearly, nobody ever thought of that before.
The TTP is an organisation that has repeatedly challenged the sovereignty of Pakistan and the rights of its people, from launching an organised country-wide campaign declaring voting “un-Islamic”  and lashing out against education by bombarding schools to openly opposing the “laws of the land” by alleging that Pakistan does not follow Shariah principles. While fear and violence are tools often used to communicate this ideology, the TTP also engages in community efforts to bolster extremist attitudes and exploit indigence, which in turn serve as the bases for recruitment and influence.
Any policy forged or any offer of peace that comes without a clear strategy to control both violence and influence is flawed and premature. Precisely what are we willing to negotiate for the prospect of peace?
Will we barter away some of our sovereignty for the illusion of peace and prosperity?
Will we allow the TTP to breed in silos before becoming an even larger nuisance in the future?
Will we allow past crimes of brutal assault against innocent Pakistani civilians to go unpunished?
It would serve the political establishment well to re-analyse their stance on negotiating peace before the offer of “peace talks” becomes more of a fatuous statement than a serious policy option. Our newly elected leaders must also recognise that “peace talks” are in fact, merely an option, not the end goal. The aim is peace.
For that, the concerned policy would include military force, a gradual socio-economic uplift of affected regions, targeted community campaigns against extremism, counter-terrorism training and resources for security forces, the effective implementation and comprehensive revision of the recently amended Anti-Terrorism Act and a genuine effort to strengthen policy by keeping all stakeholders on board including the military, provincial governments, non-profit organisations working in relevant regions, experts on terrorism, conflict resolution and post-conflict community rebuilding,  the media and the larger citizenry.
The sheer size and seriousness of the issue, including the numerous shades and sub-issues that it comprises, demands that we move away from  naïve presumptuous rhetoric and utopian cause-effect relationships, and more towards a long-term policy of eradicating extremism from our midst. Negotiation from a point of disadvantage is not negotiation; it is one-sided compromise; an agreement that rests on quick-sand, and a settlement that Pakistan simply cannot afford.

What the Taliban did after succeeding in Jihad in 90s (before 911)

Najibullah and his brother Dead bodies after the Taliban took over in 90s

1998: Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif On August 8, 1998,Taliban militia forces captured the city of Mazar-i Sharif in northwest Afghanistan, the only major city controlled by the United Front, the coalition of forces opposed to the Taliban. The fall of Mazar was part of a successful offensive that gave the Taliban control of almost every major city and important significant territory in northern and central Afghanistan. Within the first few hours of seizing control of the city, Taliban troops killed scores of civilians in indiscriminate attacks, shooting noncombatants and suspected combatants alike in residential areas, city street sand markets. Witnesses described it as a "killing frenzy" as the advancing forces shot at "anything that moved." Retreating opposition forces may also have engaged in indiscriminate shooting as they fled the city. Human Rights Watch believes that at least hundreds of civilians were among those killed as the panicked population of Mazar-i Sharif tried to evade the gunfire or escape the city. In the days that followed, Taliban forces carried out a systematic search for male members of the ethnic Hazara, Tajik, and Uzbek communities in the city. The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking Shi’a ethnic group, were particularly targeted, in part because of their religious identity. During the house-to-house searches, scores and perhaps hundreds of Hazara men and boys were summarily executed, apparently to ensure that they would be unable to mount any resistance to the Taliban. Also killed were eight Iranian officials at the Iranian consulate in the city and an Iranian journalist. Thousands of men from various ethnic communities were detained first in the overcrowded city jail and then transported to other cities, including Shiberghan, Herat and Qandahar. Most of the prisoners were transported in large container trucks capable of holding one hundred to 150 people. In two known instances, when the trucks reached Shiberghan, some 130 kilometers west of Mazar, nearly all of the men inside had asphyxiated or died of heat stroke inside the closed metal containers. Some prisoners were also transported in smaller trucks. As of late October, some 4,500 men from Mazar remained in detention. The few international relief groups operating in Mazar had evacuated their staff in the days before the attack on the city.1 On August 16, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), resumed its operations in the city. In late October, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) was permitted to resume its activities.

Following the takeover, the Taliban allowed no journalists to travel anywhere in the area. In the absence of a full-scale investigation, there is no way to know precisely how many were killed in the weeks following the fall of Mazar to the Taliban. Based on interviews with survivors and other informed sources, Human Rights Watch believes that at least 2,000 may have been killed in the city and possibly many more. Manycivilians were also killed in aerial bombardments and rocket attacks as they fled south of the city toward the Alborz mountains. Human Rights Watch is also concerned by persistent reports that women and girls, particularly in certain Hazara neighborhoods of Mazar-i Sharif, were raped and abducted during the Taliban takeover of the city. The killings of Hazara men and boys appear to have been carried out largely in reprisal for the killing of several thousand Taliban soldiers after a failed attempt by the Taliban to take the city from May to July 1997. Of these, some 2,000 were reportedly summarily executed after capture in Shiberghan and other areas, including areas to which prisoners from Mazar were deported. A number of neighborhoods targeted for searches in Mazar had been among those where resistance by Hizb-i Wahdat troops against the Taliban had begun at that time. Witnesses stated that Taliban conducting the house-to-house searches accused Hazaras in general of killing Taliban troops in 1997 and did not distinguish between combatants and noncombatants. In speeches given at mosques throughout Mazar, the Taliban governor, Mulla Manon Niazi, also blamed Hazaras for the 1997 killings. The Hazaras were also singled out because they are Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni Muslims and followers of a strict conservative sect that considers the Shi'a to be infidels. During their search operations in Mazar, the Taliban ordered some residents to prove that they were not Shi'a by reciting Sunni prayers. Over a period of several weeks, Governor Niazi made inflammatory speeches against Hazaras in which he ordered them to become Sunnis, leave Afghanistan, or risk being killed. The Taliban forces that captured Mazar-i Sharif included Pashtuns from Balkh, the province of which Mazar is the capital and the name of a town northwest of Mazar. These Balkh Pashtuns had been members of a militia aligned with the Hizb-i Islami, a largely Pashtun faction that was part of the United Front. Some weeks before the offensive on Mazar, Hizb-i Wahdat forces launched an operation in Balkh to drive Pashtuns from the area so that they would not be able to provide support to the advancing Taliban troops. The Hizb-i Wahdat forces reportedly engaged in widespread rape and looting. The rapes in particular reportedly drove several key commanders among the Balkh Pashtuns to switch sides and help the Taliban. Some were reportedly also unhappy with Hizb-i Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's courting of Shi’a religious leaders. Other commanders were simply bought off. Balkh Pashtuns were among the first troops entering the city and have been identified among the Taliban troops who engaged in indiscriminate shooting on the first day. Balkh Pashtuns also took part in the house-to-house searches and may have acted as informers identifying Hazara neighborhoods and houses.

However, witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch stated that the search parties also included Taliban officers who were not from local areas and that the Taliban officers separating prisoners at the jail were not Balkh Pashtuns but non-local "mainstream" Taliban — those from Qandahar or other predominantly Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan where many of the senior Taliban leaders are based. The speeches by Governor Niazi also demonstrate an intent at senior levels to target Hazaras. Other witnesses stated that senior Taliban leaders were not only aware of the extent of the killing in Mazar but had decided to allow it to continue for several days before stopping it. Human Rights Watch also interviewed a number of witnesses who described the abductions of girls and women from neighborhoods in Mazar, including Saidabad, Karte Ariana and Ali Chopan. There are consistent reports as well of a number of incidents of rape; Balkh Pashtuns were identified in some cases. In the weeks after the takeover the Taliban announced the execution of some soldiers who had been responsible for crimes, including rape, during the offensive

THE SAD STORY OF A TALIBAN AMBASADOR

WE know, to our lasting shame, how our overlords, dazzled by American power, and afraid of God knows what, handed over the ex-Taliban ambassador, Mullah Abdus Salam Zaeef, to the Americans in January 2002 — in violation of every last comma of international law. But until now we have not been privy to the details: how exactly did the handing-over take place? Now to satisfy our curiosity, and perhaps outrage our feelings, comes Mullah Zaeef’s own account, published in Pashto and parts of which have been translated into Urdu by the Express newspaper. To say that the account is eye-opening would be an understatement. It is harrowing and mind-blowing. Can anyone bend so low as our government did? And can behaviour be as wretched as that displayed by American military personnel into whose custody Zaeef was given? On the morning of January 2, 2002, three officials of a secret agency arrived at Zaeef’s house in Islamabad with this message: “Your Excellency, you are no more excellency.” One of them said, no one can resist American power, or words to that effect. “America wants to question you. We are going to hand you over to the Americans so that their purpose is served and Pakistan is saved from a big danger.” Zaeef could have been forgiven for feeling stunned. From the “guardians of Islam” this was the last thing that he expected, that for the sake of a few “coins” (his words) he would be delivered as a “gift” to the Americans.

Under heavy escort he was taken to Peshawar, kept there for a few days and then pushed into his nightmare. Blindfolded and handcuffed, he was driven to a place where a helicopter was waiting, its engines running. Someone said, “Khuda hafiz” (God preserve you). There were some people speaking in English. “Suddenly I was pounced upon and flung on the ground, kicked and pummelled from all sides. So sudden was the attack that I was dumbfounded... My blindfold slipping, I saw a line of Pakistani soldiers to one side and some vehicles including one with a flag...My clothes were stripped from my body and I was naked but ‘my former friends’ kept watching the spectacle. The locks on their lips I can never forget... The (Pakistani) officers present there could at least have said he is our guest, in our presence don’t treat him like this. Even in my grave I will not be able to forget that scene.” Zaeef suffered unspeakable tortures at the hands of his American captors. He was kept in Bagram, then taken to Kandahar and from there flown eventually to Guantanamo. He was released from Guantanomo and flown to Kabul in September 2005, charged with nothing, nothing having been proven against him. He remained in American captivity for close to four years.

I have read accounts of KGB prisons but to the best of my knowledge the KGB, while no collection of innocents, did not keep prisoners in metal containers and metal cages. This seems to be a method perfected by our American friends. In the Second World War the German army confined itself to fighting, leaving the dirty work of prisoner detention, abuse and torture to the Gestapo and SS. But in Afghanistan and Iraq it is the American military involved in the most despicable acts of torture. Abu Ghraib was an American military facility as is the prison system in Guantanomo Bay. In Basra soldiers of the British army have been involved in the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. These are the standard-bearers of human rights and freedom from whom we are supposed to take lessons in democracy. Why does the Bush administration and its acolytes in Britain so loath President Ahmedinejad of Iran and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela? Because they look America in the eye and are not afraid of speaking the truth.

It is hard to fault Hugo Chavez when before the UN General Assembly he calls Bush a devil and the Bush administration the greatest threat to world peace. From the shores of the Mediterranean to the Hindukush mountains on our western border this entire region is in strife, all because of the evil — there is no other word for it — flowing from the US. The ‘evil empire’ is very much here and its capital is Washington. The Nazis dabbled in lies as a matter of policy. They said — Goebbels being the prime exemplar — that the bigger the lie and the more it was repeated, the more it would be taken as the truth. But the Nazis did not prevaricate. They were bold enough to call their lies lies. The Yanks and the Brits are less honest. They want us to applaud their lies as the truth.

The US covered itself in a garb of hurt innocence when the Sep 11, 2001, attacks took place. But using those attacks as a pretext, it has done so much harm around the world, especially in the Middle East and our region, that its hands are covered in blood. We can only thank our stars that American aggression has not gone unchecked. If Iraq had been a cakewalk, if the US had not met its second Vietnam in the killing fields of Iraq, there is no telling what the Bush war administration would have done, what further conquests it would have embarked upon. Redrawing the map of the Middle East would not have remained a mere slogan. It might actually have happened. Complementing Iraq is the developing situation in Afghanistan where the anti-American resistance is gaining strength and growing stronger by the day. In Lebanon Israeli designs have received a severe check. Iran is defiant and standing up to pressure. In Latin America Chavez looks set to don the mantle of Castro. What a dramatic change has been wrought in a mere five years. The US was unassailable at the beginning of this period. But thanks principally to the Iraq fiasco, it looks less invincible now. Its material power has not diminished but its moral worth stands degraded. It remains a colossus but with feet of clay.

This is not the end of history. This looks very much like the beginning of a new history. The free-market model American-style is not the crowning achievement of human existence. Indeed, if we are at all interested in sustainable development, we’ll have to think of something better and less destructive than unbridled capitalism. And something less arrogant than the new imperialism to which our region is being exposed. Spare a thought for our military rulers who take such pride in supping with the devil. Indeed, closeness to the Bush administration is the ultimate yardstick by which they like to judge themselves. Whatever the mess in domestic affairs, it means nothing if their equation with Washington remains strong.

Did the Pakistani officers present at the scene of Zaeef’s humiliation feel nothing when the Americans were laying into him? Did the thought not cross their minds that more than Zaeef’s humiliation it was their humiliation? And who was the senior officer, with a flag on his jeep? My course-mate Ehsan — 41st PMA — was then heading ISI, the organization in overall command of such sensitive matters. Maybe he throws some light on this incident if he sits down to write his memoirs. There is no shortage of sages who, in relation to Pakistan’s post-Sep 11 capitulation before the US, still ask: what would you have done? They miss the point altogether. From cravenness and appeasement no good can come, none whatsoever. And a country which proves itself to be craven in one sphere can do nothing right or bold in any other sphere. If toadyism is to be our second nature, we will be swayed this way and that by every shifting wind. Our national endeavours will lack conviction and purpose and democracy and the rule of law will remain distant dreams. We will have to master our fears and our perennial tendency to vacillation before we can hope to master anything else.

American Role in Making Taliban and Al-Qaeeda

Pakistan's ISI was used as a "go-between". CIA covert support to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan operated indirectly through the Pakistani ISI, --i.e. the CIA did not channel its support directly to the Mujahideen. In other words, for these covert operations to be "successful", Washington was careful not to reveal the ultimate objective of the "jihad", which consisted in destroying the Soviet Union. In December 1984, the Sharia Law (Islamic jurisprudence) was established in Pakistan following a rigged referendum launched by President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Barely a few months later, in March 1985, President Ronald Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive 166 (NSDD 166), which authorized "stepped-up covert military aid to the Mujahideen" as well a support to religious indoctrination. The imposition of The Sharia in Pakistan and the promotion of "radical Islam" was a deliberate US policy serving American geopolitical interests in South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. Many present-day "Islamic fundamentalist organizations" in the Middle East and Central Asia, were directly or indirectly the product of US covert support and financing, often channeled through foundations from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Missions from the Wahhabi sect of conservative Islam in Saudi Arabia were put in charge of running the CIA sponsored madrassas in Northern Pakistan. 

Taliban getting strong again

Resurgence of the taliban project global final from nygiants

The award for saving the World especialy Germans shame on them

Pakistan - October 2009 from John *

The Laws of Taliban

The laws of the Taliban from Mr Halligan

For TTP, the Quaid MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH was a kafir….

True Pakistanis are still shocked at branding the Father of Nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah as kafir (apostate) by terrorists of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). But this should shock nobody as nearly all reformers in Muslimshistory were meted out a similar treatment. Bulleh Shah, a sufi saint and poet, when called a Kafir, composed this Punjabi verse: Toon hoyon aashiq Rabb da teinun hui malaamt lakh/teinun loki kafir aakhdey, toon aakho aakho aakh (ever since you have fallen in love with God, you are being criticized/(but don’t worry) if they call you kafir, you only say “yes, yes”)

But Jinnah was a different matter. He was a direct threat to the religious hegemony of clergy which they were enjoying in the Sub-Continent since the age of Muslim monarchs of nearly all dynasties. For them, the corrupt Moghul era was a model for enforcing their type of religious system. The state of Pakistan, to which they lay their claim to rule, was a secular democratic state which they despised. The clergy under JUH was resisting the idea of Pakistan and was an ally of Congress which stood for an undivided India after departure of British rulers. In Jinnah, they saw a hurdle to their rule as he had declared in clear terms that Pakistan would not be a theocratic state. They all, except for an honorable minority under Maulana Thanwi, declared creation of Pakistan as a sin. They still have not accepted Pakistan and their ideological descendants, the TTP, has unleashed their revenge on Quaid’s Pakistanthrough acts of terror.

Declaring a Muslim as kafir or Takfiri is not a new phenomenon. Under this, a Muslim accuses another Muslim of apostasy. The accusation itself is called takfir, derived from the word kafir (impiety) and is described as when “…one who is, or claims to be, a Muslim is declared impure.”

In principle the only group authorized to declare a Muslim a kafir is the ulema, and this only once all the prescribed legal precautions have been taken. However a growing number of splinter Salafist groups, labeled by some scholars as Salafi-Takfiris, have split from the orthodox method of establishing takfir through the processes of the law, and have reserved the right to declare apostasy themselves.

Middle East expert Robert Baer has written that “takfiri generally refers to a Sunni Muslim who looks at the world in black-and-white; there are true believers and then there are nonbelievers, with no shades in between. A takfiri’s mission is to re-create the Caliphate according to a literal interpretation of the Koran.” Takfiris believe in Islam strictly according to their interpretation and do not accept any deviation from their path; they reject any reform or change to the religion as it was revealed in the time of the Prophet. Those who change their religion from Islam to any other way of life, or deny any of the fundamental foundations of Islam, or who worship, follow or obey anything other than Islam, become those upon whom the takfiris declare the “takfir“, calling them apostates from Islam and so no longer Muslim.

This extremist interpretation of Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyyah who issued a famous fatwa declaring jihad against invading Mongols not because they were invading but because they were apostates, apostasy from Islam being punishable by death. Though the Mongols had converted to Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah reasoned that since they followed their traditional Yassa law rather than Islamic Sharia law, they were not really Muslims and thus apostates. More recently 18th Century Islamic Revivalist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and 20th century Muslim authors Maulana Maududi and Sayyid Qutb, referenced Ibn Taymiyyah in condemning self-proclaimed Muslims as not really Muslims. Al-Wahhab condemned practices of Shia, Sufi and other Muslims as bid’a (innovation of the religion), and al-Wahhab’s followers slew many Muslims for allegedly pagan practices. Like jihadis, Takfiri groups advocate armed struggle against the secular regime but unlike jihadis, takfiri groups make no distinction between the regime and the ordinary population when employing violence. Opponents of the Takfiris often view them as modern-day analogues of the Khawarij, a seventh-century off-shoot Islamic sect which waged war against the Caliphate.

What TTP is doing today is, in fact, what their religious forefathers did at the time of creation of Pakistan. The father of Pakistani Taliban, Maulana Fazlur Rehman had once declared proudly, “Thanks God that we were not partners in the commission of the sin of making of Pakistan”. It is irony of history that the very same anti-Pakistan Mullah dreams, and can sell his soul to the devil, to become prime minister of the very same Pakistan his forefathers so vehemently opposed.

Who are the Taliban?

The hardline Islamic Taliban movement has proved to be a formidable fighting force in Afghanistan and a major threat to its government.

The Taliban also threatens to destabilise Pakistan, where they control areas in the north-west and have been blamed for a wave of suicide bombings and other attacks.

Many observers now believe that future peace in Afghanistan can only come if the government in Kabul negotiates with the Taliban.

The announcement of Taliban plans to open an office in Qatar is seen as a positive step in those negotiations, but mistrust on both sides remains high.

There has also been speculation that some of the Taliban-linked groups in Pakistan have held talks with the government in Islamabad - although this is not confirmed.

Austere rule

The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

A predominantly Pashtun movement, the Taliban came to prominence in Afghanistan in the autumn of 1994.

It is commonly believed that they first appeared in religious seminaries - mostly paid for by money from Saudi Arabia - which preached a hard line form of Sunni Islam.

The Taliban's promise - in Pashtun areas straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan - was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere version of Sharia, or Islamic law, once in power.

In both countries they introduced or supported Islamic punishments - such as public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers and amputations of those found guilty of theft.

Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering burka.

The Taliban banned television, music and cinema and disapproved of girls aged 10 and over from going to school.

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THE TALIBAN

• Emerged in Afghanistan in 1994
• Mainly supported by ethnic Pashtuns
• Toppled after US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001
• Fugitive leader Mullah Omar wanted, whereabouts unknown

Pakistan has repeatedly denied that it is the architect of the Taliban enterprise.

But there is little doubt that many Afghans who initially joined the movement were educated in madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan.

Pakistan was also one of only three countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which recognised the Taliban when they were in power in Afghanistan from the mid-1990s until 2001.

It was also the last country to break diplomatic ties with the Taliban.

But Pakistan has since adopted a harder line against Taliban militants carrying out attacks on its soil.

The attention of the world was drawn to the Taliban in Afghanistan following the attacks on the World Trade Centre in September 2001.

The Taliban in Afghanistan were accused of providing a sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda movement who were blamed for the attacks.

Soon after 9/11 the Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan by a US-led coalition, although their leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was not captured.

Foreign forces have poured into Afghanistan in an effort to crush the insurgency

In recent years the Taliban have re-emerged in Afghanistan and grown far stronger in Pakistan, where observers say there is loose co-ordination between different Taliban factions and militant groups.

The main Pakistani faction is led by Hakimullah Mehsud, whose Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is blamed for dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks.

Observers warn against over-stating the existence of one unified insurgency against the Pakistani state, however.

The Taliban in Afghanistan are still believed to be led by Mullah Omar, a village clergyman who lost his right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Afghans, weary of the mujahideen's excesses and infighting after the Soviets were driven out, generally welcomed the Taliban when they first appeared on the scene.

Their early popularity was largely due to their success in stamping out corruption, curbing lawlessness and making the roads and the areas under their control safe for commerce to flourish.

US onslaught

From south-western Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly extended their influence.

The Afghan people are weary of conflict

They captured the province of Herat, bordering Iran, in September 1995.

Exactly one year later, they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, after overthrowing the regime of President Burhanuddin Rabbani and his defence minister, Ahmed Shah Masood.

By 1998, they were in control of almost 90% of Afghanistan.

They were accused of various human rights and cultural abuses. One notorious example was in 2001, when the Taliban went ahead with the destruction of the famous Bamiyan Buddha statues in central Afghanistan, despite international outrage.

On October 7, 2001, a US-led military coalition invaded Afghanistan and by the first week of December the Taliban regime had collapsed.

Mullah Omar and his comrades have evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world.

They are generally thought to be taking refuge in the Pakistani city of Quetta, from where they are guiding the resurgent Taliban.

But the existence of what is dubbed the "Quetta Shura" is denied by Islamabad.

Despite ever higher numbers of foreign troops, the Taliban have steadily extended their influence, rendering vast tracts of Afghanistan insecure, and violence in the country has returned to levels not seen since 2001.

Their retreat earlier this decade enabled them to limit their human and material losses and return with a vengeance.