America's New Threats

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who truly loves Pakistan, used to warn us to not become too fond of America. He said that America will eventually betray us. He told this to Pervez Musharraf as well. Kayani’s warning turned out to be true. After having killed 35,000 of our civilians and soldiers and having caused $70 billion of damage to our society, America has now begun threatening us. The entire country has become anxious in the face of these recent threats. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen has blamed Pakistan for spreading terrorism in Afghanistan. He said that through the use of the Haqqani network, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) has been launching attacks in Kabul.

America’s shameful accusations and threats come at a time when they have eliminated financial aid to us, and when 10 million Pakistanis are homeless. The U.S. has been against the ISI because the ISI is on the side of the Pakistanis. America has wanted the ISI to always be on its side, just as it was when they were fighting the Soviets. The U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is a very hot-headed man and never stops threatening us.

Our leaders should not have kept quiet after the Abbottabad incident. They chose to engage in “sweet talk” and kept saying that “America still needs us.” If they had talked aggressively with America then, it would not be issuing threats to us now. These male leaders were not as strong as our female leader in the past. In 1989, when spy agencies had warned Benazir Bhutto of a possible attack in Quetta by Israel and India, she sent Foreign Minister Yaqub Ali Khan to warn India. After this message, India and Israel did not go through with their plans. This brave woman leader also stood up against America.

The question we must ask is, how should we respond when America launches drone attacks on us? Are our army and government ready to tackle America? The Pakistani public has already sacrificed a lot and continues to stand by its army. America continues to fight its war here. The terrorist acts over the past 10 years have terrified America. U.S. President Obama is facing a lot of pressure from his own people. In light of these conditions, they can do anything to us. According to one newspaper, only two votes were cast in favor of Pakistan in the U.S. Senate when it was debating whether to send additional financial aid to Pakistan.

We cannot be soft in the face of America’s new threats. Our leaders must let them know that if they ever interfere with our sovereignty again (as they did in Abbottabad), we will engage in serious retaliation. Our country has atomic weapons not so that it can use them in the future, it has them so that it can threaten others with them and keep them frightened. The Pakistani government must become friends with China and Saudi Arabia. Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif highlighted some of these sentiments in a press conference. President Zardari should also wake up. He needs to consult with the Pakistani people and talk openly about America’s new threats. This will show America that we will no longer remain quiet.

I wish that our leaders were as wise as Quaid-e-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah). Jinnah asked us to be independent and peaceful, saying that “our object should be peace within, and peace without.” Our leaders, unfortunately, are too busy following their own interests and those of America, instead of doing what is best for Pakistan. As for the issue of America’s financial aid, I am reminded of Iqbal’s poem that says that it is better to die than to be a stranger’s slave.