Back to the Stone Age By Michael Shank and Saira Yamin The Daily Times (Pakistan) October 8, 2006
President Pervez Musharraf’s claim that former United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage threatened to “bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age” is sadly ironic: Musharraf is already doing it. This year, Musharraf diligently assisted the US in the so-called ‘war on Islamic fascism’ by deploying 80,000 troops and executing bombing raids in the Waziristan agency. Long thought to provide easy passage for Taliban militants through its porous 2,200-km border with Afghanistan, Waziristan is now a war zone. Unable to distinguish locals from militants, Musharraf’s raids have resulted in destroyed crops, pervasive homelessness, rampant looting, contaminated wells, shuttered schools, dead cattle and infrastructure reduced to rubble.
Pakistani officials, responding to mounting moral opposition, brokered a September peace deal with the Waziris that promised a militant-free environment. The peace accords, however, are quickly losing traction: a convenient contractual caveat allows the government to strike Waziristan if need arises. Not surprisingly, the caveat came in handy last week as US helicopter gunships penetrated Pakistan airspace, ultimately undermining the peace accord and leaving Waziris frightened of reprisal.
In ridding the region of radicals, the US and Pakistan continue to commit grievous errors in judgment vis-à-vis the psychical genesis of Waziri resistance. Contrary to Bush Administration propaganda, Islamic fascism is not enflaming the ire of the tribes in Waziristan — imperialism is. British imperialism, which reared its ugly head in these very border villages nearly a century ago, was met with fierce opposition by autonomous frontier tribes. Tribal leaders, then as now, claimed rightfully the rocky terrain. The new generation of Waziri leadership is vehemently opposing the next iteration of imperialist forces: American.
In the early 20th Century, tribal anti-imperialist resistance, aimed at British forces en route to India, was impressively and overwhelmingly non-violent. One-hundred-thousand tribesmen called the Khudai Khidmatgars staked their claim to the autonomous region and non-violently refused the passing of British imperialist forces, much to their demise.
This organising feat led by Gandhi’s close Muslim ally in the non-violent movement, Badshah Khan, has been conveniently edited from the history books. The reason is not surprising. An Islam deprived of a prominent non-violent leader is much easier to wage war against than an Islam boasting a Gandhian counterpart. Interestingly, Khan legitimately sourced all his non-violent teachings and inspiration from the Quran.
Nearly a century later, Waziristan’s anti-imperialist struggle is targeted at American forces active within Pakistan and in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iran. The legacy of the Khudai Khidmatgars lives on and is emboldened by events like January’s CIA missile attack on innocent civilians and by persistent, indiscriminate bombing by the Pakistan military, a force equipped presumably with US fighter planes.
Waziris, an intermarried mix of indigenous Afghans and Pakistanis, are convenient scapegoats for the US imperialist agenda. Mysteriously nestled in a seemingly impregnable mountain region replete with caves, Waziristan offers Bush a sufficiently faceless enemy — a necessity in raising American ire against a nebulous concept like Islamic fascism. Waziris, however, are the scapegoat for more than just the Americans. Afghanistan accuses the tribes for Taliban resurgence in southern Afghan provinces, a blame more aptly shouldered by the US that destroyed Afghanistan’s infrastructure in 2001 before leaving abruptly. Pakistan blames the tribes for their semiautonomous threat to the integrity of the whole republic.
Amidst the din of accusation, the tribes merely ask to be left alone. Yet to no avail. In a world of nation-states, the tribes’ desire for autonomy is an implicit threat. In a world of warring religions, a non-violent Muslim leader like Khan is a powerful rebuttal to anti-Islamic rhetoric. Which is why, if Musharraf fails to sufficiently bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age, the US will finish the job. The US wants to squash emerging threats and a storming of the border, followed by a list of insurgents dead, will undoubtedly aid this media stunt. The border region has long stymied imperialist agendas, however, and will invariably continue to do so. Therefore, a word to the wise: put a halt to the imperialist plan and try a different approach:
First, respect the tribes’ historic autonomy; if they non-violently sacrificed 100,000 tribesmen to frustrate British imperialism, they will readily shed additional blood to thwart American imperialism.
Second, honour the story of Badshah Khan, an exemplary leader of non-violence in a manner consistent with Quranic teachings, by heralding him among other prominent non-violent religious leaders, e.g. Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Islam needs this non-violent hero now more than ever.
Third, rethink how the war on terrorism is implemented in Pakistan. Ask residents in Pakistan’s Balochistan how terrorism can be eradicated. They will quickly point out that their resource-rich province has benefited them little. Reduce terror instead by implementing a speedy expansion of infrastructure, provision of basic facilities like health and education, and procurement of jobs for youth.
If the US and Pakistan move quickly on these three recommendations, a more benign Pakistan will assuredly emerge. If not, prepare for another hundred years of anti-imperialism resistance.
Michael Shank is pursuing doctoral studies in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Saira Yamin teaches at the Department of Defence & Strategic Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.