PBS FRONTLINE/World’s excellent report on Talbanization in Pakistan and my comments on it (posted originally posted on Friday, February 29, 2008)
Today I received an email from Manal Ahmad on behalf of American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)’s Frontline/world and Christian Science Monitor. The mail invited our readers to preview an investigative video report (See Part 1/ Part 2/ Interview of the reporter) on the Talbanization in Swat and Musharraf’s imposition of emergency (I call it martial law though). It is an excellent and thought provoking work and one should congratulate the reporter and the project team for undertaking and doing full justice to it. Since it features also Pakistani intellectual heavy weights like Aitzaz Ahsan and Ahmad Rashid, the report is highly recommended. You can reach it also through the project’s homepage.
Since I have also been asked to comment I want to clarify two points in the report. In the report Benazir’s assassination and Amir Zeb’s demise have been mentioned in quick succession. That is chronologically correct. However somehow it seems to the observer implying that Benazir Bhutto was also assassinated by the Taliban. Had that been a clear message one would have complained that the project team was taking side of a beleaguered regime on the issue. However that is not clearly the case and let me only limit myself to one clarification. While there is no gainsaying that terrorism and Talbanization pose the single most taxing challenge to the future of the nation, it is a bit premature to conclude that the Taliban were behind Benazir’s assassination. There certainly was a serious coverup regarding that as the evidence was immediately hosed down by the authorities. The citizens of this country are demanding that investigations should take place under UN’s auspices on the pattern of the Hariri probe. Till then it would be unwise to take any side on the issue.
Second the bold reporter says in his interview that Musharraf is more important asset in the war on terror than any other leader. I am sorry but that is the exact approach that has ensured the west’s eight year long blind support for Musharraf’s authoritarian regime. If there is only a way to fight the extremists in this country it is only through democracy and good governance. Musharraf is so detested in this country now, as made evident in the national elections that his only an impediment in the war on terror not a solution.
Instead of writing my own summary of the report here I am copying the email which sums up the entire project quite lucidly and succinctly. (Please do note that some parts of the documentary are a bit graphic hence viewer discretion is advised).
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Dear Mr. Khan,
I’m writing on behalf of the American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary series FRONTLINE/World. I think that you and the readers of your web blog will be interested in FRONTLINE/World’s new 20-minute documentary “Pakistan: State of Emergency”, now live on our website. The story investigates Maulana Fazlullah, the young Taliban cleric waging war against the Pakistani government in the beautiful valley of Swat. The story includes the events of November 3rd and Benazir Bhutto’s assasination, and also features interviews with Aitzaz Ahsan, his son Ali, and renowned Pakistani journalist and writer Ahmed Rashid.
The documentary broadcast in the U.S. last night, but you can watch the full video on our site, where you’ll also find extended interviews, background information and an interview with the reporter. You and your readers can post comments on the site, and we hope to hear what you think. More about the story:
Swat is a place off-limits to most Western journalists, but reporter David Montero met this mysterious and ruthless Pakistani Taliban leader last spring. Montero also met the moderate local politician who tried to stop Fazlullah - Asfandiar Amir Zeb, the prince of Swat.
Amir Zeb was assassinated in a car bombing a day after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto shocked the world. Montero returned to the Swat Valley to find out what Amir Zeb’s death meant to the region, and to report on the Army’s belated efforts to fight the Taliban as suicide bombings spread throughout Pakistan.
The story, reported by David Montero as a joint project with the Christian Science Monitor, sheds light on the connection between Musharraf’s lax approach to Taliban militants and his recent crackdown on lawyers and the judiciary. For more information, go to: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan703/
Thanks for watching, and for sharing on your blog.
Manal Ahmad
PBS FRONTLINE/World
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld
Posted by farrukh at 05:35:06.
Posted on March 3rd, 2008 under Old Posts • 
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