The Prague Post Online: News: Voices from the darkness

December 1st, 2008

Endowment Fund Business Listings ONLINE Reservations Classifieds Subscriptions

Prague Property

Voices from the darkness

Local Pakistanis unite in fallout of Islamabad blast that killed dozens

October 1st, 2008 issue

By Ayesha Khan

For the Post

JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST

Pakistani Ambassador Athar Mahmood said he's been touched by Czechs' support.

ISIFA

Pakistani soldiers stand at attention next to the coffin of Czech Ambassador Ivo Žďárek before its repatriation Sept. 22.

After hearing news of a Sept. 20 terrorist bombing at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad that claimed the lives of about 60 people, including Czech Ambassador to Pakistan Ivo Žďárek, members of the local Pakistani community rushed to get in touch with families and friends living in their native country’s capital.

The normally taciturn expat community has unified in the aftermath of the deadly blast, voicing sympathy for the victims, condemning the attackers and participating in a heated debate about domestic politics.

In the days following the Islamabad bombing, the Pakistani community has denounced the attack and voiced their solidarity with Czechs in a series of public statements.

On Sept. 23, a group of 21 Pakistani locals met at their ambassador’s residence in Prague to ponder the formation of a forum that would make their community more visible. Promoting cross-cultural awareness, the forum would include not only Pakistanis and Czechs, but also other nationalities living in Prague.

Athar Mahmood, Pakistan’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, said that his country desires to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the Czech Republic in all dimensions. “I was touched by the fact that the Czech leadership and the people at large have shown support for Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism,” he said.

Approximately 300 Pakistanis currently reside in the Czech Republic, many of whom have established their own businesses here.

Pakistan-born Prague resident Khalid Pervez was the first to approach the embassy, suggesting the local expat community should present a joint reaction to the tragedy. “I was truly saddened by the unfortunate incident at the Marriott,” he said.

For Pervez, the thought of a Pakistani being responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people — especially during the holy month of Ramadan — is unthinkable. “Don’t get me wrong; we’re by all means a very passionate people,” he said, “a bit hot-headed at times, but not a violent nation.”

Pervez shares the views of many experts on terrorism in the country. “Pakistan was never at war within [its] own boundaries,” he said. “This war was delivered to us by the Americans.”

Pervez said the local community is fragmented and needs a cultural exchange to highlight the country’s rich culture and heritage. “Of course, we can do it on a personal level, but doing it as a community would be more effective,” he added. “We need to make ourselves more visible and advocate how we are bringing added value to the Czech Republic.”

Bearing the burden

Over the course of the past decade, Pakistan, a nuclear power, has become a frontline state in the U.S.-led so-called war on terror. Pakistan’s newly appointed president, Asif Ali Zardari, is co-chairman of the country’s biggest political party and the widower of the late politician Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007.

Zardari’s many critics flag him as one of the most corrupt politicians in Pakistan’s recent history. Zardari continues to dismiss such claims, categorizing them as politically motivated in his Sept. 25 post-election address to the United Nations.

Analysts in Pakistan argue that the tumultuous situation in the country is a spillover from the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, when Pakistan became the supply route for the West — particularly the United States — to send weapons to Afghans fighting Russian forces.

The subsequent retreat of world powers from Afghanistan left Pakistan to deal with approximately 3 million Afghan refugees and a war-torn neighbor that bred civil war and instability.

The 9/11 attacks reinstated U.S. interest in Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf, then chief of Pakistan’s armed forces, became America’s new best friend. Presently, Pakistan houses the fuel supply route for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Tariq Fatemi, a career diplomat for more than 35 years and a former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States and the European Union, says that the aggravated incidence of terrorism within Pakistan has to have a solution that comes from within the country and not from anywhere else — referring to the U.S.-led incursions inside Pakistani territory.

Speaking to The Prague Post from Islamabad, he reiterated, “A victory for terrorism in Pakistan will not only destroy this country, but also create instability and even chaos in other Islamic countries. The solution has to be homegrown and multifaceted based on dialogue, economic investment and social reform in deprived areas, and military use against the terrorists, especially the foreigners. It is going to be a long and extremely painful process, but we have no other option.”

Fatemi was in Islamabad when the bombing took place. He says the government needs to formulate a well-thought-out policy on terrorism, debate it in Parliament and create a public consensus in favor of that policy.

For years, the Pakistani public and the government have held disparate views on the war within their territories. Fatemi criticized the government’s tendency to react to unrests with ad-hoc tactical measures, namely military operations in the tribal regions of north Pakistan, which he said inadvertently disenfranchised the public at large.

Tariq Ali, an acclaimed British-Pakistani novelist and filmmaker, spoke at the Writer’s Festival in Prague this June. In his latest book, he underlines the plight of the 180 million Pakistani people against a corrupt political elite and military dictatorships widely supported by the West.

In a recent interview, Ali noted, “No government under the sun in Pakistan has ever cared for the needs of the people or done much for them. And that is the duel that goes on. The surprise is that more poor people don’t turn to religious extremism. It would be comprehensible, but they don’t do it.”

As their native country struggles with terrorist threats and political ambiguity, members of Prague’s Pakistani community continue to publicly condemn acts of violence like the Marriott blast, hoping to strengthen their local presence on a community level.

They remain sympathetic to the real victims at the epicenter who hope that the new, democratically elected government will recognize the gravity of the situation and act in the interest of the country and its people.

Ayesha Khan can be reached at news@praguepost.com

Reader's comments:

add your comment

[04:00 04/10/2008] : Pakistan should quit this war immidiatly as it is resulting in domestic voilence & unrest. No matter it is Zardari or any other Army General all have the same agenda to protect amercian interests at the cost of national security. Marriot incident shows how weak this so called democratic potical setup is & will collapse in near future!!

Ali Hasnain
Lahore

Note: Comments that include profanity, personal attacks or any other inappropriate material are prohibited.

Add your comment

Most e-mailed articles
Happy to be sad again Hidden history U.S. visa waiver in effect

Related articles
Putting the sizzle in steak

Most visited in Business Listings

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.