Malalization – Read This Blog

Malala On 9th October 2012 was shot in head and neck when she was on her way to school in Mingora (Swat). Two other girls named Kainat & Shazia got injured too. Miraculously Malala survived and was rushed to military hospital in Peshawar but few days later she was taken to U.K through air ambulance for treatment where she is regaining health now. Ever since the attack happened, National & International media, Politicians, NGOs, Civil Society condemned the heinous crime and prayed for Malala’s health as well as bringing the culprits to justice. Already an iconic figure Malala since the attack has been turned into an icon of peace and bravery.

There is also another side of terrorism happening in same country.

Since October 2012 to November 2012, in only two months’ time around 540 civilians and 71 security forces personnel have been killed in as many as 9 suicide attacks and 107 bomb blasts. (Figures summarized from SATP portal). Moreover in two months 5 drone strikes were made in which 34 alleged militants were killed.

Here one question arises

Are all citizens equal in Pakistan as stated in below article 25 of the constitution:

Equality of citizens.

(1)          All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law.

(2)          There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex.

If all citizens are supposed to be equal then why a special treatment is happening with only one citizen where rest of the nation is helpless. The above mentioned fatalities were only based on terrorist attacks. There are hundreds of cases of rape, murder happening daily but Media, Politicians and NGOs don’t raise voice against them. One event has been made so significant and everyone is in the grip of Malala incident. This clearly shows biased behavior of Media, Politicians, NGOs, Civil Society, Me and You.

Here I have few more questions to ask.

Are the lives of rest of citizens not important?

Shouldn’t rest of citizens be treated with best medical facilities?

Do they have different blood?

Do they breathe different Oxygen and drink different Water?

What is happening here is that one event has been made so significant that rest of events and atrocities have become meaningless. In last two months whether you switch on TV/Radio or pick up a newspaper, everywhere you will find news covering Malala. Every one of them is in race to cover Malala as much as they can whereas rest of the events held no importance for them. International and Local lobbies are making mockery of us through media. They want us to think in limited way dependent upon them. They want us to see what they show only, they want us to listen what they say only and hence we keep on getting away from truth.

No doubt Malala is an iconic figure but she has been used for vested political and security interests by everyone. Politicians are in run to earn fame and good name and hence every thing in this country is being named as Malala. Malala day has been celebrated and Malala schools are being built but what about soldiers who got martyred in Salala, Siachen and thousands of security personnel and civilians who got killed due to terrorism? A single day hasn’t been assigned to commemorate their bravery and sacrifices. Malala’s father has been offered job in Pakistani High Commission in Britain but what about hundreds of other sons, father, mothers, wives who have lost their breadwinner? United Nations was quick to pass resolution for Malala day and to denounce the incident but what about innocent civilians who are getting killed and injured in drone attacks, what about civilians and soldiers who are getting killed by other terrorist attacks? Our Media is in the race to have maximum TRP and revenue and hence their only focus is the issue through which they can have maximum revenue whether that issue holds any importance or not. NGOs always focus upon issues which provide them a chance to bag more donations. Hundreds of people burnt to death in Karachi factory fire but no NGO came forward to speak for their rights. On daily basis hundreds of girls get killed, raped or assaulted but you will never see them speaking for those and once an incident of even a lower scale but with more chances of getting fame happens they suddenly get up and come to streets. These are clearly double standards and world need to do away with them if they really treat and consider everyone equal.

Now let’s talk about Me and You. We are literate and wise people and we should develop our own opinion rather than blindly following what is being said or what is being shown. We have been blessed with eyes to see, ears to listen and mind to think and we should use each of them collectively and efficiently. Only then we will be able to get out of the grip of the conspirators.

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Facts and Myths About Pakistan Army

The army should not indulge in politics. Definitely not. The army should not be buying off politicians. No question about it. Every citizen of Pakistan, whether an army general or a civilian minister, should be punished if found guilty by a court of law. Absolutely no debate about that one either.

Yes, the army would have to learn that a unidimensional national security strategy singularly focused on ‘defence’ cannot guarantee the longevity of the Pakistani nation-state. Yes, our future really depends on three ‘Ds’, not one. And they are: defence, development and diplomacy. Let us now dissect some long-held myths:

Myth 1: Pakistan’s military eats up the largest chunk of our budget. Not true. The largest chunk goes for servicing domestic debt and the second largest chunk is eaten up by losses at public sector enterprises like the Pepco, PIA, Pakistan Steel and Pakistan Railways.

The third largest chunk is routinely allocated for the Public Sector Development Programme. In 2012-13, the fourth largest chunk, an amount of Rs545 billion, was allocated for ‘defence affairs and services’.

Myth 2: The military consumes a very high percentage of government expenditures. Not true. In 2012-13, ‘Defence Affairs and Services’ consumed a meagre 17 percent of all government expenditures. What that means is that a full 83 percent of all government expenditures are non-defence related.

Myth 3: Over time, our expenditures on the military have been on an increase. Not true. In the 90s, our defence budget used to be 3.6 percent of the GDP. Since then there has been a steady decline. In 2012-13, allocation for defence was under 2.5 percent of the GDP – a 33 percent decline over a decade.

Myth 4: We spend a very high percentage of our GDP on defence. Not true. There are at least fifty countries that spend a higher percentage of their GDP on defence. They include: India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, France, Eritrea, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Liberia, Brunei, Syria, Kuwait, Yemen, Angola, Singapore, Greece, Iran, Bahrain, Djibouti, Morocco, Chile, Lebanon, Russia, Colombia, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Namibia, Guinea, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, Serbia and Montenegro, Armenia, Botswana, Ukraine, Uganda, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Lesotho and Sudan.

Myth 5: The Pakistan Army has received billions of dollars in the form of coalition support funds. Not true. Of the $10 billion that the US claims to have reimbursed to the government of Pakistan, the army has received a total of $1.8 billion (presumably the rest has gone into filling the deficit). Remember; the $1.8 billion is not additional funds for the army but mere reimbursements for expenses already incurred under the ‘war on terror’.

Myth 6: Commercial undertakings by the military are a burden on our economy. Not true. To begin with, commercial undertakings have literally nothing to do with active duty personnel – and everything to do with the welfare of retired soldiers. Defence Housing Societies are self-financing and popular both among investors and residents (because of superior management and security of title). Fauji Fertilizer, a public limited company, for instance, contributed a wholesome Rs91 billion to the tax kitty.

And now some facts:

Fact 1: Current losses at our public sector enterprises can pay for 100 percent of our defence budget.

Fact 2: Pakistan’s armed forces are the sixth largest but our expenses per soldier are the lowest. America spends nearly $400,000 per soldier, India $25,000 and Pakistan $10,000.

Fact 3: Pakistan’s armed forces undertook successful operations like Operation Rah-e-Haq (Swat), Operation Sherdil (Bajaur), Operation Zalzala (Spinkai) and Operation Rah-e-Nijat (SWA) without any significant additional financial allocation.

Fact 4: Of all the armies in the world, Pak Army is the largest contributor of troops to the UN peacekeeping missions. Of all the armies in the world, Pak Army has received the highest number of UN medals.

Malala And Media Role

Malala Yousafzai, a young peace activist, was attacked on 9th October 2012 in SWAT valley as she was going back to home from school. She is known to the world for raising the voice against the Taliban and also raised the voices for education of girls in tribal areas. Currently, she is in United Kingdom and her treatment is going on.

As soon as she was attacked, whole world condemned the attack on her as they were ready to give the condemnation for Malala. Malala gets international fame within seconds. She was the attention of everyone. Everyone was speaking against the attack. International media gave so much coverage to this incident.

But who exactly is Malala Yousafzai to attract so much international attention? What about the two other girls that were injured in the same attack? Even their names are not widely known, much less information about their parents. Apart from the fact that they are out of danger, there is little that we know about their plight. Are they not worthy of attention and sympathy? Within days of the assault on Malala, American troops killed three Afghan children on October 14 in an aerial attack in the Nawa district of Helmand Province in Afghanistan. It may not be adjoining Swat Valley but is not very far either from where Malala was attacked and injured.

As is customary, the US military initially described the bombing as a "precision strike," that was reportedly aimed at several Taliban fighters who were allegedly planting an IED in the road. The attack, however, killed three children. Does anybody know the names of those three innocent Afghan children, all members of the same family collecting dung for fuel in the grinding poverty of Afghanistan despite 11 years of America's showering the country with cruise missiles and trillions of dollars in "aid"? For the record, the three children were Borjan, 12; Sardar Wali, 10; and Khan Bibi, 8 but do not expect Obama, Clinton or any other Western official to rush to the microphone to name these children or condemn the cowardly attack that snuffed the life out of three innocent children. That would not serve America's "national interest" nor would keeping statistics of the hundreds of children murdered by American drones in Pakistan's tribal region since 2004. On October 20, American forces killed four more children in Afghanistan. There is no mention of their names; it is safe to assume we will never learn their names. Another batch of Afghan children has been slaughtered for the sake of protecting and projecting "US interests." Besides this, there are many children who die in drone attacks. There is no one in the world to speak and raise voice against the drone victims. There is not any kind of condemnation from any country in the world against the drone killings. Is Malala the only innocent girl in Pakistan?

"MALALA DAY" was being observed on 10 November 2012 in the whole world. This is un-justice to the other children who died in drone attacks. They are also innocent, they are also children. No one in the world has observed "DRONE ATTACKS DAY". Is Malala better than all the children? Is she so much special?

The whole world must open its eyes and must look at other children as well. Besides this, Malala is not the only youth icon in Pakistan. There are many other talented youngsters in Pakistan as well who have done so much for Pakistan. They also deserve to be in the news as well.