Osama in Pakistan

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Osama is in Pakistan, and Mike Mullen also says that Pakistani officials are aware that Osama is in Pakistan. I completely agree with both of them.

Not only are our officials acquainted with this truth, but the public is well aware of it too. Osama is not the name of a person, Osama is the name of a feeling; this has been discussed many times before. I and those who think like me are still puzzled about Osama bin Laden. Is it possible that Osama bin Laden is simply the name for a noose that America has set just to hunt Muslims? Is Osama bin Laden the name of a snare, the name of a camouflaged trap that we cannot see? If Osama is just a name, then I won’t ever be able to eliminate ambiguity from my thoughts about it. But if Osama is the name of a passion, that fury that rises in hearts as a result of America’s crimes against Muslims — if Osama is the name of a hatred born in Muslims because of America’s cruelty toward them, or if Osama is the name of that longing for freedom born in the souls of Muslims each time they are suppressed and crushed — then in the streets of this country, in its homes and squares, in its shops and conference halls, in some shape, some form, Osama is present. And whether it is Hillary Clinton or Mike Mullen, President Obama or former President Bush, not only do they all feel fear but, despite their military and all their resources, they cannot control it.

Following Hillary Clinton’s previous visit and Mike Mullen’s statement, analysts are beginning to fear that after attacking Afghanistan and Iraq, America is looking for excuses to attack Pakistan. It is possible that this suspicion is true; however, there is a question that continually arises in the mind. Despite ruining Pakistan and involving its economy in new agonies every day, what spark is left in Pakistan that makes the U.S. so fearful that it wants some excuse to attack Pakistan, even though it has ruined Pakistan to the extent that it can? Pakistan has been deliberately entangled in so many problems — sometimes using aid as an excuse, sometimes on the basis of a war on terror — that no solution seems evident. Looking at present circumstances, sometimes one begins to believe that the U.S. had a hand in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination for the purpose of bringing people into power who would appear to be democratic but in reality would enter government only because they promised to further an American agenda. These people would have no compulsions, no pressure from the likes or dislikes of the public — they would feel only the pressure of American interests. That is what is happening in the country right now. The war on terror that is being fought by the government was never ours, but we have gathered it for ourselves, and every governmental step is such that no benefit for the country or nation is evident in it. Pakistan agreed to a new Transit Trade Agreement in which India has been given toll terms that will be completely to Pakistan’s detriment. While the financial losses to Pakistan may be put aside, the dangers to Pakistan’s security cannot even begin to be estimated.

However, along with America’s enmity, we ourselves are enemies of our country. Whatever happens in the country, no matter how much destruction our ruling officials cause to our country, we remain tangled in our problems and offer no scheme to counter them. This issue is frequently the subject of contention. Some of my fellow intellectuals hold America responsible for all these problems, while others say all the responsibility belongs to the public who not only elected American stooges but also did not even try to resist them. The reality is that the paths of nations are not arranged by any one factor: innumerable elements always combine to organize history, and that is just what is happening in Pakistan. It is not just America’s fault, but the public’s as well. However, despite all this, it feels as if answers cannot be found to the questions that entangle us today. America’s fear will remain in place because it is fearful of the Osama present within every Muslim, but we are unable to take advantage of this fear. The U.S. expresses its fear repeatedly, but we pay no attention to it. Whenever any Faisal Shahzad in America becomes an Osama, a few of us are made happy, a few shake their heads in sorrow that a well-established life was ruined for the sake of religion, and many don’t even think about the issue.

Today, Mike Mullen feels danger from Lashkar-e-Taiba. Tomorrow, it will be said that all religious parties are dangerous, and then every Pakistani will be considered an Osama. But this charge will relate more to their fear than to our striving for liberty. The sad thing is that we do not have the courage to use the fear of us that is present in their hearts, and they, despite their fear, have their boot on our neck. Who knows when we will awake and prepare for the war that is scaring them to death.