[niaz]

The way the article is written is a text book illustration of what I call media spin.It reminds me of long time ago when Communists were elected in Kerala and some Western Media Head Lines suggested as if part of India was taken over by the Russians.

Who are Taliban ? This was the name given to the volunteers who were students of religious madarassas in the NWFP and volunteered to fight for the unity of Afghanistan. Dir and Bajour agencies have been strongholds of Tehrek Nifaz Fiqah Mohammadia ( TNFM) since the Zia ul Haq time, when all the relgious parties got financial and poiltical backing to fight against the Russians in the Afghan Jehad.

Nearly all Talibans are Pashtoons but these are the sons of the soil of the NWFP and Afghanistan. One mustn't forget that NWFP was a part of Afghanistan until Sikhs defeated the Afghans and annexed it. When British defeated Sikhs and annexed Punjab all areas under Sikh control became British India and subsequently Pakistan.

MMA was elected on anti US platform as a direct reaction to PAK govt U-turn in its Afghan policy. For quite a while, religious parties have had strong influence on the Pashtoon population on both sides of the border. This is illustrated by the fact that Mulla Mufti Mahmood ( father of Fazlur Rahman ) was Chief Minister of democratically elected NWFP govt during ZA Bhutto's era. The term 'Taliban' had not even been coined then. At that time secular Wali Khan's ANP ( then called NAP) was the other political force. After the Soviet Afghan invasion, ANP sympathised with the Babrak Kamal regime and called the Afghan refugees as "Bhagoras" meaning people who ran away. The result of this and that ANP did not denounce US Afghan invasion, caused secular ANP to be wiped out during 2002 elections and replaced by JUI of Fazlur Rahman; a very pro taliban party.

An impartial observer would describe the events as "Rise of militant Islam as a reaction to US Afghan policies" instead of saying " Bajour surrendered to taliban'. This is just sensationalizing the facts to make it more shocking and since taliban are synonymous with terrorists, it re-inforces the view that Pakistan is a hot bed of terrorism.

Personally, I am anti mullah and anti taliban. However, I also believe in democratic right of the people at large; I would grudgingly accept who so ever populace elects. I am however dead against media spin because such articles have a malicious intent of harming Pakistan. There is no denying the fact that media spin can twist the facts to such an extent that the oppressed appear as terrorist and the oppressor as pacifist. Prime example is FOX News. The news reports show the killing of one innocent Israeli victim a hundred times over but only mention in passing that 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli revenge strike. While I sympthatise with the Israeli victims ( most of those are totally innocent) but to me a Palestinain is also a human being and deserves as much sympathy as an Israeli. India verses Pakistan media coverage is no different.

let me quote an Urdu verse

Junoon ko khirad kah dia, khirad ko junoon
Jo chahe apka ka husne karishma saz karey

It means that you have called madness as wisdom and wisdom as madness.
Your miraclous beauty can do whatever it desires.