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Journalism of Courage
By week8217;s end, Daily Times gathered some strands of President Musharraf current troubles 8216;Divided government fights on many fronts8217;: The standoff at Lal Masjid, sectarian violence in Parachinar in Khurram agency, vigilante action in parts of NWFP with music cassettes being confiscated. On Lal Masjid, the newspaper detailed the divisions showing up in the federal cabinet.
Lal Masjid is located just a couple of kilometers from the Supreme Court in Islamabad. In January, in response to the demolition of unathorised structures by the local authority, female seminarians of Jamia Hafsa which is attached to Lal Masjid occupied an adjoining public library for children. They also abducted three women for allegedly running a brothel. Since then Sharia has been imposed in the complex, and shops in the city have been given a deadline to stop selling music. Chiefs of the complex have warned that the dwellers are armed, and have even threatened suicide attacks.
North by Southwest
By Tuesday, April 9, Dawn8217;s correspondent in Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, could report: 8220;Tribal volunteers supported by native militants have cleared the Azam Warsak area of Uzbek fighters and hoisted their flags after establishing their control. An official said that around 2,000 tribal volunteers and militants allied with commander Maulvi Nazir entered Azam Warsak on Monday morning and hoisted white flags.8221; South Waziristan administrator Hussainzada Khan told the correspondent that paramilitary forces had been ordered to take up positions on strategic hilltops in Shin Warsak and Azam Warsak to secure the area from falling back into the hands of Uzbeks and their supporters.
But more than a month, and hundreds of casualties later, media in Pakistan are examining the significance of the clashes. In the April issue of Newsline, Rahimullah Yusufzai, longtime chronicler of events on the Afghan border, explains: 8220;The fighting signaled a split in the ranks of the tribal militants, who generally refer to themselves as the Taliban or mujahideen. They were all in one camp when the Pakistan military launched operations in South Waziristan against militants suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in early 20048230; The killing of Nek Mohammed, commander of the militants in Wana area, removed a commanding figure from the ranks of the militants and caused splits.8221; This sharpened a split between pro and anti-Uzbek tribal militants. The Azam Warsak success could impact future strategy, says Yusufzai: 8220;As the days wore on, the government functionaries argued that their policy of concluding peace accords with the tribes had paid off because the tribesmen on their own were now fighting to expel the foreign militants. The government had tried doing that by launching several military operations in Waziristan and failed. It is now banking on the tribal militants to do the needful and rid Waziristan of the 8216;guest fighters8217;.8221;
Water logs
The Daily Times began its April 11 editorial 8216;Water may be cause of future wars8217; with a clarification from Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri: 8220;his earlier statement about water being a possible cause of war between states in South Asia was misunderstood; in fact, he had said that the possibility of war over waters was minimised by discussions under SAARC. He said the obligation of managing the melting glaciers and common sources of water has compelled Pakistan, India and other states in the region to cooperate.8221; But the newspaper was not so optimistic: 8220;One can hardly imagine how these regional states will overcome their lack of imagination and start trusting each other for collective action.8221;
A day earlier Dawn launched a series on issues related to water 8216;The business of water8217;. Misuse of water resources, wrote Shahid Javed Burki, had led to Pakistan ranking among the world most 8220;water stressed8221; countries. He said the accumulating consequences of current policies 8212; water-logging, salinity and depleting ground water 8212; could now be made even more dire with the effects of global warming.
The Kalash mystery
Much mystery, and romance, surrounds the Kalash people in a part of the Hindu Kush. It8217;s been routinely speculated that they, with their distinctive clothes and songs, are descendents of Alexander the Great8217;s soldiers. Dawn, however, reports from a talk by French anthropologist Georges Lefeuvre that it is more likely that they had been driven out of Iran by Aryan invaders around 1500 BC. Lefeuvre, who8217;s lived among the Kalash for more than 20 years, says theirs is the most ancient Indo-Aryan language. Once inhabitants on both sides of the Durand line, the Kalash are today said to number around 600.
