The other battle to be won

By Dr Tariq Rahman
Thursday, 28 May, 2009

The other day students of Pakistan Studies from the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad visited IDP camps near Mardan to distribute rations to the displaced from Swat and Buner.

Inspired by their professors who had donated a day’s salary towards this project, the students had collected the funds themselves. Other staff that had also donated a day’s salary had bought the rations and had these transported to the IDPs.

The team left the motorway near Mardan and turned towards the city. There were displaced people along the way and they told the team that they should not give the rations to officials.

Instead, the IDP families were the best choice and these were accessible only in the smaller, lesser-known camps. Someone said that Labour Colony near Mardan had IDPs staying in schools so that is where the team headed. Sure enough the team was surrounded by men and children who said they had left their homes and standing crops and had come down as exiles. Some carried identity cards but when they heard that these were not necessary they breathed a sigh of relief. Everybody behaved in a dignified manner and nobody pushed nor did anyone beg for extra rations.

The team then invited the children for ice cream and biscuits to a nearby shop. The children came gladly as children would anywhere in the world. But one child behaved differently. She was a shy little girl who stood quietly, a little separated from the other children in the queue. When a member of the team offered her ice cream she replied with great dignity that she was a local.

‘Ok. But you can still have the ice cream,’ said someone. ‘No. I am a local. I cannot take charity. It is not for me. It is for those from Swat and Buner.’ The little girl gave a two-rupee coin to the shopkeeper and bought something for herself, but the ice cream and biscuits she would not touch!

The team then went on towards Takhtbhai. Near the canal and under the deep green shade of the trees children gambolled all around while the women sat inside the tents in asphyxiating heat as they had covered themselves from top to toe out of modesty. One camp, with Austrian banners on it, seemed to be very well-organised. The people said they had suffered a lot but were afraid of saying too much against the Taliban except that they were cruel. One or two said in low voices that they were afraid the Taliban would be back as the army could not stay in their area for ever. Nobody argued with these poor, traumatised people whose minds teemed with memories none could imagine.

The Mardan-Nowshera road also had a number of camps but it was not possible to find out how well-managed or otherwise they were. However, a camp just before the interchange which led to Mardan along the motorway seemed to be singularly badly chosen as far as the location was concerned. For one thing, there were hardly any trees around it; for another, there was no running water. Worse was the fact that no big town was within walking distance.

This camp was hot and frustrating as compared to the cooler, more cheerful places under trees and near canals.

This trip, entirely private and not official, was the contribution of the students, staff and faculty of Pakistan Studies and it is being written about so as to inspire others. It is one aspect of the battle for hearts and minds we should now be concerned about. There are, of course, other aspects of this battle too.

First, the media should motivate the whole country to contribute materially to the wellbeing of the IDPs. Secondly, the IDPs as well as the common people of Pakistan should be told clearly why we are fighting this war. They are still confused because there are people who call this America’s war or compare it with the army’s military action in Dhaka in 1971.

This is not America’s war. It will go on even if America withdraws. It is not a territorial war or a war of ethnic separatists. It is a war for a way of life, for women’s rights, for academic and media freedom, for democracy, for constitutionalism — in short, for a modern Pakistan instead of an ideological dictatorship. We owe it to our people to make this clear to them because we are asking them to sacrifice hearth and home and even life. If they are doing all this they have the right to know why they are doing it.

Yet another part of winning the battle for hearts and minds is to support the army, paramilitary, police and the Rangers — those of lower ranks including field officers who are getting killed or who are doing their duty under arduous conditions. We condemn the army without distinguishing between the high command and ordinary soldiers and officers up to the field level. Whereas upper-level military policies of the past were flawed — and maybe the use of heavy artillery, tanks and air power is dysfunctional even now — it is imperative that we support and praise those young soldiers and officers who are laying down their lives for us.

Similarly, when one looks at the poor salaries and facilities of the FC, police and even the Rangers one is appalled. Surely they cannot fight the Taliban if they are getting pay that is lower than what the Taliban give to their fighters. But, besides poor pay and facilities, the services of these security personnel are given very little recognition. This is no way to win their hearts and minds and until we do so we cannot win this war.

Military victories are often an illusion. Real victories are the victories of ideology. If we really want our way of life to triumph over Talibanisation we must prove ourselves to be morally superior, more just, more fair, more equitable and better administrators than our rivals for the control of our minds and hearts.

Moreover, we must convince our people that we will provide them security, food, education, health services and the freedom to live their lives the way they want to. If we fail to provide better alternatives we may win the battle but lose the war.

Courtesy: DAWN