The Diplomatic Insight August 2014

A temporary ceasefire that was halted for a while to end the brutal attacks of Israeli
forces to an open-air prison as know as Gaza, Benjamin N e t a n y an h u , Israel’s hawkish prime minister, ordered again to begin fierce bombardment to stop Hamas rocket attacks. The truce fails so the humanity. The conflict that broke out on July 8 between Hamas and Israel after “Operation Protective Edge” was launched by Israel against the innocent citizens of the Gaza Strip for stopping rocket attacks, 2,016 Gazans have been killed and 10,196 have been wounded, most of them are children and women.

This unsettled and explosive conflict in the Middle East reflects that how failed is world community showing little but no resilience and strength against Israel, committing serious war crimes by breaching all international laws in the recent Gaza offensive. Since the beginning of the conflict and deaths of innocent children, the UN, and other international organizations were remained silent as if allowing the aggressor to continue its lethality at its best. UN only issued a statement of condemnation when a UN school was bombed killing those who took shelter.

What to speak of the West and its hypocrisy towards the Gaza crisis and the eagerness of the US to launch airstrikes in Iraq, it will remain as it is. Bizarrely enough organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also became a useless organization that has no power whatsoever to utilize its energies that once it had, to play a constructive role to end violence in the Middle East. But it has also lost its significance since the differences of Muslim countries have brought more weakness to the Muslim Ummah.

Even the current Gaza war has become a proxy for the entire Middle East where Muslim countries are openly supporting Israel against the Palestinians and Hamas and are not even shy on that. The conflict has laid new divides and opened the wounds of Muslims as this time it’s not Jews against Muslims but its the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their backers Iran, Qatar, and Turkey — against Israel and the more moderate Muslims including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Now, this divide amongst the Muslim world is clear and empty rhetoric of condemnations
are dismissed as insignificant and there is not a single leader from the entire Islamic World
who has what it takes to be the one to stand firm on support for the people of Gaza.

Pakistan, on the eve of 68th Independence Day, yet again, is facing chaos and uncertainty
that looms large over the political, social, and economic scene of the country. This time the
threats are not from the terrorists but from those chanting slogans and waving the sit-in
protests at the heart of the capital. The protest by the two mainstream political parties i.e.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek(PAT) led by Canadian returned cleric Tahirul-Qadri is meant to outset the incumbent government for fraud mandate and overall changing the whole system.

Mass street movements are an integral part of democratic politics in Pakistan, often used by opposition politicians to press their demands. But Khan’s crusade has been met with sharp criticism in the news media in recent weeks from Pakistanis who say his demands are exaggerated, especially at a time of pressing security challenges. Mr.Khan who says his
the mentor is Quaid-I-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah has simply forgotten about political
the ideology of Jinnah. Once during a public meeting in Dacca, Jinnah said, “ It is in your
hands to put the Government in power or remove the Government from power, but you
must not do it by mob methods. You have the power; you must learn the art to use it;
you must try and understand the machinery. Constitutionally, it is in your hands to
upset one Government and put another Government in power if you are dissatisfied
to such an extent.”

Our politicians have trenched themselves so much into their own lust for power that they have overlooked what is expected from true statesmen and politicians. Pakistan is currently in a state of war as we are fighting an operation for survival “Zarb-e-Azb” aiming to root out all the foreign or local terrorist groups from the soil of Pakistan. Our country cannot afford anarchy within the country at such a sensitive time.

In this whole melodrama calling this “ Azadi March” and “Revolution” as that has begun on the eve of independence day and till writing of these lines, government and state are in the confusion about what to do. This street madness has also resulted in a recent historic stock exchange crash and devaluation of the country’s currency.

Day to day governance, work, businesses including small and large, came to standstill with these unnecessary demonstrations.

Recent reports also reflect that fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items are being rotten and shipments of edibles and fuel into cities and towns across Pakistan are disrupted thus creating a further blow to the already crippling economy.

It is the people who have to deal with hardship, hunger, unemployment, pathetic law and order, water scarcity, load shedding, favoritism and nepotism, and all sorts of mafias no matter who rules.

This political crisis needs to be resolved on an urgent basis as it has distracted itself from the real issues confronting us today.