.. the first i delves a bit deeper into politics and media in Pakistan .. with a number of inserts here ..
Pakistan’s “Principled” and “Independent” Media
Now that Pakistan’s notorious televangelist, anti-Ahmadi bigot has returned to (the equally notorious) Jang group, one should re-evaluate Café Pyala’s defense and hero-ization of those Jang Group journalists who were upset at the return of Aamir Liaquat Hussain. As someone pointed out on Twitter, the Jang Group translates to War Group. It would not be inaccurate to extrapolate further and call them Lashkar-e-Jang. Certainly the comparisons between this powerful media group and the Judiciary-protected and ISI-backed Shia killing militia known as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are not off the mark given their shared alignements. [my bold]
On July 1st, this is what Cafe Pyala said: ----- Well, it seems a full blown revolt has now erupted within Geo’s editorial management over this. Among the people said to be extremely unhappy with this turn of events are Managing Director Geo News Azhar Abbas, Director Content Development Muaaz Ghamdi and star anchors such as Sana Bucha (Lekin), Najam Sethi (Aapas Ki Baat) and Iftikhar Ahmed (Jawaabdeyh). Many others have also signed an internal petition being circulated against Mr Jeem’s reappointment. While it is not clear if anyone else has offered their resignations, Sana Bucha refused to conduct her programme on Friday and Saturday, leading to Meray Mutabiq’s Maria Memon being drafted in as a stop-gap arrangement, while the official explanation given was that Ms Bucha was busy in “personal engagements.” Our sources tell us that Ms Bucha has indeed tendered her resignation at the return of the charlatan preacher and that the resignation has now been accepted. According to our sources, she had been explicitly promised that, if Mr Jeem were ever to return to Geo, she would be free to refuse to continue. Some sources claim she even had it written into her contract though we cannot verify this. http://cafepyala.blogspot.com/2012/07/revolt-against-mr-jeem.html ----- Fact is that both Najam Sethi [ "Sethi was then held for almost a month without charge, in the custody of the army intelligence group Inter-Services Intelligence." .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najam_Sethi .. see comment on Sethi's 'incarceration'? below ] and Sana Bucha [ "In November 2012, Sana again had developed some issues with GEO and as a result she resigned from Geo and joined Dunya News." .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sana_Bucha .. just now wiki doesn't have Bucha rejoinng GEO a 2nd time, yet the 2013 date of this article suggests she must have ] are still conducting their shows without even a statement of protest. After a few days off air, Sana Bucha is back from her holiday. (Previously we saw another fake hero Nasim Zehra [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasim_Zehra ] cancelling her resignation to Dunya TV in the aftermath of the Lucman-Meher fiasco.) Aamir Liaquat [ " Controversies and Criticism .. Fake degrees .. Accusations of inciting violence .. there are a few others ] is actually being promoted during the commercial breaks of Ms. Bucha’s programme at Geo TV. So much for being hailed as principled and liberal champions of truth!
Earlier, after mocking a protest rally in Karachi by Shias after yet another atrocity against them, Café Pyala got tagged as Café Jhangvi .. Not Found . On more than one occasions, Cafe Payala has shown its anti-Barelvis anti-Shia prejudice .. http://pakistanblogzine.wordpress.com/2011/09/09/cafe-pyala-or-cafe-jhangvi/ . In jumping towards the defense of its “liberal” champions, Cafe Pyala should realize that these journalists opted to join and continue to ally themselves with the Jang Group aka Laskhar-e-Jang. Expecting them to take a principled stand is not just naïve, it is disingenuous given their past record. And no one represents this fraud mentality more than Najam Sethi – the Don of Pakistan’s “liberal” elites.
What is going to be said next will raise howls of protest from his partisans who cheer and applaud his show. A show that is the epitome of double-speak and represents the peddling of pro-establishment gossip. Recently blogs have highlighted how Najam Sethi has suffered for his allegeldy bold journalism. They refer to his alleged incarceration between 1975 to 1977; supposedly by the late Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
During the time that he was allegedly incarcerated, Najam Sethi was flying around in a military helicopter. Exactly like Malik Ishaq, the leader of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. [my emphasis]
Being in jail (ask the last Prime Minister or the current President) means being caged and tortured. On the contrary, both Najam Sethi and Malik Ishaq were flying around in military helicopters during the time they were in supposed to be in jail. Najam Sethi was free as the birds that feed him his nightly gossip. Maulana Masood Azhar was giving firebrand speeches of bigotry during the time that he was supposed to be under house arrest. Imran Khan was jumping walls during his brief alleged incarceration and enjoying a healthy diet of fruits during his “hunger strike”. This is the dishonest pattern on which the military establishment works in protecting its civilian assets like Malik Ishaq and Najam Sethi.
Najam Sethi continues to maintain his chauvinist grudge against PPP while staying clear of any solid criticism of PML N (which arrested and manhandled him in the 1990s). By virtue of heading the Punjab government, PML governs 60% of Pakistan today.
Café Pyala’s article is another example of the deluded self-promotion and self-congratulation that Pakistan’s “liberal” elites do for one another. This is exactly why Pakistan’s mainstream media (of which Lashkar-e-Jang is the dominant part) cannot be trusted for reliability by the international community. From drones to Shia Genocide to Ahmadi persecution to the one-sided attack on an elected government, this pathetic, corrupt media has failed completely.
Post Script: That Aamir Liaquat is an Anti-Ahmadi bigot and deserves no place on TV is without question. However, the way in which he was exposed did more harm than good while also revealing the anti-Shia, anti-Barelvi sectarian bias and selective morality of his detractors. In that infamous clip (most probably produced by SSP-ASWJ propagandists), whose distribution was spear-headed by Café Pyala, Aamir Liaquat was placed in danger by highlighting his Barelvi Sunni beliefs in opposition to those of the militant Deobandi-Salafi views. Similarly, both GEO and other channels have also given air time to virulent anti-Shia Ludhianvi of SSP-ASWJ. This includes Najam Sethi’s own show .. http://criticalppp.com/archives/73439 .
The problem with selective morality is that it often backfires. By limiting their protest to bigots like Aamir Liaquat while staying silent on others (Zakir Naik, [ ----- insert: Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (Urdu: [...] born 18 October 1965) is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF),a non-profit organisation that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist.
[...]
"Biological evolution
Naik has said that the theory of evolution is "only a hypothesis, and an unproven conjecture at best". According to Naik, most scientists "support the theory, because it went against the Bible – not because it was true." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakir_Naik
also a terrorist, as BL, fan ] ----- ] Dr. Israr, Ludhianvi etc), Café Pyala and its liberal followers set themselves up for failure. Today, Aamir Liaquat is back and all set to spew his bigotry once again. And those “liberals” who protested his reinstatement……
Video: Geo to aisey – Aamir Liaqat returns to Geo TV
The Friday Times misrepresents the suffering of Pakistan’s Shias and Ahmadis
by admin
We are very disappointed to see misrepresentation of Shia genocide in Pakistan in at least four articles in the current issue of The Friday Times (March 02-08, 2012 – Vol. XXIV, No. 03).
Clearly, authors and editors at TFT have taken lead from their Editor in Chief Najam Sethi who himself was found misrepresenting Shia genocide in Pakistan only a few days ago on Geo TV’s Aapas Ki Baat (Talk Show). The details can be read at the following link: http://criticalppp.com/archives/73439
In addition to misinterpreting and misrepresenting the anti-Ahmadiyya legislation at least in one article by Raza Rumi (discussed next), TFT also published a misleading piece by Saleem Javed on Hazara persecution in the same issue.
Saleem Javed’s article misrepresents Shia persecution and genocide as an ethnic one and misquotes the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)’s warning to Shia Muslims across Pakistan by confining it to Hazara Shias only. This is what the author wrote: “Banned militant outfits have threatened to make Pakistan “a graveyard for the Shia Hazaras” and have asked them to leave the country by 2012.” Of course, the author carefully hid the fact that the LeJ’s warning is explicitly against all Shia Muslims of Pakistan and that LeJ is a sectarian, not an ethnic, terrorist organization.
The article is very implicative particularly when it refers to Sariab Road to give it Hazara vs Baloch ethnic colour. (Previously, TFT published another misleading article on this topic in which Khaled Ahmed presented false binaries of Hazara Shias and Pasthun Taliban .. http://criticalppp.com/archives/60302 .)
ASWJ-SSP terrorists often stereotype Pakistan's Shias as Iranian agents to justify their genocide.
Saleem Javed’s article also has a very serious charge against Iran. The author writes: “In a single incident in 1998, Iranian forces killed more than 630 refugees, mostly Hazaras, in the Safed Sang Camp detention center.” This charge, however, has not been substantiated. Is there any statement by any human rights group (HRW, Amnesty) or United Nations to support this allegation? We have many complaints against Iranian theocracy, yet this is a very serious charge published by The Friday Times without any proof. If this charge remains unsubstantiated, it will show that the TFT has conveniently recycled and spread the Saudi-ISI inspired propaganda.
Iran is an excuse to spread further hatred against Pakistani Shias. Defaming Iran legitimatises Shia killing in Pakistan SSP-ASWJ does that. Now TFT!
Pakistani Shias are routinely stereotyped by SSP-ASWJ-Taliban and ISI-touts (Ejaz Haider etc) as Iranian agents. In fact, SSP-ASWJ leader Ludhianvi describes his participation in Difa-e-Pakistan as Difa against USA, India and Iran. Iranian connection or label is then used to misrepresent Shia genocide in Pakistan as a proxy-war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iranian label is also used to reinforce othering and hatred against Pakistani Shias. This leads to further target killing. Saddam used to do that, by describing and ridiculing Iraqi Shias as Iranian agents. Same tactic is used by autocratic anti-Shia regimes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait etc. Ejaz Haider used the same technique in an Express Tribune article in 2011 to justify the target killing of Shia Hazaras in Quetta by painting them as Iranian stooges. Now, The Friday Times has done the same by blaming Iran to be responsible for the murder of 630 Hazaras which has two effects. It dishonestly highlights the ethnic nature of Hazara genocide in Balochistan which is anything but true. Further, it throws bad light on Iran and by stereotypical association on Pakistani Shias, thus obfuscating and justifying their genocide.
Also please refer to the list of non-Hazara Shia Muslims killed by SSP-LeJ-Taliban in Balochistan to understand that Shia genocide is not an ethnic issue: http://criticalppp.com/archives/64797
Do TFT editors know what’s common in Shia Pashtuns, Shia Hazaras, Shia Punjabis, Shia Muhajirs, Shia Saraikis, Shia Sindhis, Shia Balochs etc? Have they read the SSP-LeJ’s fatwa against Shia Muslims .. http://criticalppp.com/archives/58986 , particularly those of Parachinar and Quetta?
Ali Chishti’s article (The Al Qaeda connection) is relatively better because it not only highlights the target killing of Shia Muslims by ASWJ-SSP terrorists but also shows that a large number of moderate Sunni Barelvis too have been killed by the same group of extremist Deobandi terrorists. However, Chishti needs to clearly highlight the fact that Shia genocide is being enabled by a military state which supports Jihadi-sectarian militant groups of extremist Deobandis. He needs to stay away from the sectarian violence or sectarian fault-lines discourse which is both misleading and obfuscating. He also needs to acknowledge that a significant number of non-Hazara Shias too have been killed in Balochistan for their Shia beliefs.
In the same issue, TFT also published an article by Zia Ur Rehman, titled ‘Battle for Kurram’. The article presents false neutrality between well documented ISI-Taliban-ASWJ’s blockade and genocide of Shia Muslims of Parachinar (Toori Pashtus) with Shias’ legitimate defence to save their lives, honour and property from the army-backed Haqqani Taliban (and their Punjabi ASWJ-SSP supporters). The article also uncritically recycles ISI-esque propaganda about an imaginary Shia terrorist group Haideri Taliban. ----- The only known Shia militant group is the Mehdi Militia (sometimes called the Haideri Taliban), consisting mainly of Turi tribesmen. “The group has large public support among Shias in Kurram and is concentrated in the upper Kurram area of Parchinar and Ziayran,” according to a report published by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). Their opponents say the group is supported by allies in Iran and Afghanistan. ----- Did you notice the dirty word “Iran” again to justify and obfuscate Shia genocide in Kurram? Recently, Jang Group too published the same ISI-esque propaganda about Haideri Taliban by holding the group responsible for a recent bomb attack on a bus station in Peshawar. Upon strong protestations by Shia and other rights activists, Jang retracted the ill-intended report and rendered an apology, which can be read here: http://pakistanblogzine.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/jang-group-the-news-retracts-its-isi-inspired-report-on-haideri-taliban/
In his article in the current issue (Violent Sectarianism), Raza Rumi refers to vague terminology, sectarian violence or sectarianism. This is how Rumi presents a simplistic and inaccurate account of Shia genocide in Pakistan: ----- The recent rise in sectarian killings, for instance, is a continuation of the trends already gathering pace in Pakistani society from the 1980s. They indicate the growing retreat or failure of state and law enforcement agencies against the expanding power of militant groups that deploy guerrilla tactics to achieve their goals. Sectarianism in its contemporary manifestation, therefore, cannot be delinked from the larger growth of Pakistan-based terror groups and their alliance with the global Jihadist project negotiated by the loose conglomerate known as Al Qaeda. ----- Clearly, Rumi does not recognize that more than the failure of state and law enforcement agencies, it is the active support of Pakistani state (read Pakistan army) to anti-Shia Jihadi-sectarian groups which is enabling an ongoing and systematic Shia genocide. More than Al Qaeda or Taliban, the blame rests with those who created, mentored and treated AQ, Taliban and other Jihadi-sectarian organizations as their strategic assets!
Rumi refers to Muhammad Amir Rana’s vague data related to sectarian violence and fails to provide any statistics at all in terms of total number of Shia Muslims killed in 2011 or in previous years.
What’s common in Najam Sethi, Hamid Mir and Raza Rumi: All three of them describe Shia genocide as sectarian violence!
Almost all of the articles published on Shia genocide in the current issue of the TFT refer to vague and false neutral terms: sectarian fault lines, sectarian violence, sectarianism. This is utter non-sense. It is now amply documented and established that Shia genocide by ISI-sponsored ASWJ-SSP-Taliban terrorists must not be misrepresented as sectarian violence. It is well established that majority of peaceful Sunnis reject and disown ASWJ-SSP terrorists. Therefore, presenting Shia genocide as sectarian violence is an intellectual dishonesty. In a similar vein of dishonesty, media used to call frequent ambush of Talibans on Shias of Parachinar, Hangu and DI khan as “Tribal feud”.
We encourage TFT editors and other media persons to read Saroop Ijaz’s bold and clear article on Express Tribune (4 March 2012) .. http://tribune.com.pk/story/345004/silence-is-criminal/ .. on this topic. Saroop writes: ----- " The Shia Muslims are being systematically murdered in Pakistan. Use the word ‘genocide’ and people would begin to protest and bring forth the dustiest of legal definitions. ‘Ethnic cleansing’ is slightly less contentious and is now occasionally being used in the case of the Hazara and other Shia. Reflect on the full import of the term for a moment, it has the implication that some people are merely filth and murder is a way to cleanse the impurity. Repulsive thoughts; are they not, but this is the mindset that is plainly looking us in the face. It is not ‘sectarian strife’ or ‘conflict’, since that would presume the existence of at least two parties with a semblance of parity. The euphemisms would be silly and disingenuous at all times, but what makes them wicked is that it is either fear or prejudice which leads to their usage. To admit or be open to the possibility that the Shia are being slaughtered through an orchestrated scheme, in a country with the second-highest Shia population in the world is to be open to the realisation of just how deep the rot has spread.["] ----- Apparently, by painting Shia genocide as routine sectarian violence (barring a few one line caveats here and there), the current issue of The Friday Times serves to deflect the responsibility of Shia genocide in Pakistan from the real killers: i.e., Pakistan army, which has recently enabled further Shia genocide through the tacit support to the Difa-e-Pakistan Council comprising anti-Shia Jihadi-sectarian terrorists.
More than one authors in TFT’s current issue have cited research by Muhammad Amir Rana, director at Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) to provide a flawed and dishonest account of Shia genocide in Pakistan. Of course the terminology used by Rana himself is vague, sectarian violence, and that’s not without a purpose. Rana does not provide the exact data on total number of Shias killed and lumps up all deaths in one block and one terminology. His sense of history is as flawed as that of other proxies of Pakistan’s military establishment. Here is a sample of Rana’s research reported in Shahzad Raza’s article in TFT: ----- " According to PIPS statistics, 314 people were killed in 111 sectarian related incidents of violence in 2011. The advent of violent sectarianism in Punjab, Rana recalls, dates back to the assassination of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi, a Deobandi religious leader from the district of Jhang. A killing spree that began in reaction still continues in one way or the other.["] -----
The above paragraph shows how intensity and scale of Shia genocide is covered up. For example, refer to this vague line: “314 people were killed in 111 sectarian related incidents of violence in 2011.” Now compare this to the Amnesty International’s clear data (revealed on Twitter by Mustafa Qadri of Amnesty) that at least 276 Shia Muslims were target killed in 2011 in Pakistan, this figure does not include many other deaths which remain unreported or unverified. Do you see the difference?
Also any researcher who dates back Shia genocide to SSP’s terrorist leader Haq Nawaz Jhangvi’s death is either dishonest (a sold out soul) or incompetent. Where will Rana hide the fact that the systematic genocide of Shia Muslims in Pakistan started in Therhi, Khairpur (Sindh) when at least 118 Shia Muslims .. http://www.shaheedfoundation.org/tragic.asp?Id=13 .. were butchered by armed Deobandis on 6 June 1963 during the rule of Pakistan’s first military dictator General Ayub Khan? Where will he hide the fact that the recent wave of violence and target killing started in the aftermath of Saudi-funded, ISI-handled recruitment and training of Jihadi-sectarian militants for the so called Jihad in Afghanistan and Kashmir?
This is how TFT resorts to false neutrality to justify and obfuscate Shia genocide: “What we have seen recently is the ruthless targeting of Shia doctors,” Rana says. “In response, Shia groups kill lawyers and leaders of their rival groups.” (Shahzad Raza cites Muhammad Amir Rana).
Really? Would Rana compare Hamas’s violence to the Stat atrocities by Israel against Palestinians? Would he also compare and equate Kashmiri militants struggle with the disproportionately violent response by the Indian State? Can a few, very few acts of violence or resistance by Shia Muslims against ASWJ-SSP militants be equated with the State-sponsored Jihadi-sectarian groups’ violence against Shias? Are Shia Muslims indiscriminately targeting Sunni Muslims the way they are being indiscriminately killed by SSP-ASWJ-Taliban terrorists in their Muharram processions, mosques, markets and offices? Apparently, these questions do not mean much for TFT editors!
The current issue of TFT is a sombre reminder that Pakistani media is an accomplice to genocide of Shias and other persecuted and target killed groups in Pakistan.
We want to assert that Hazras are killed because they are Shia not because they are Hazras. Any attempt to hide the Shia identity in turn hides the real motives of the LeJ-SSP killers and enables further Shia genocide. Moreover, those who are killing Shia Muslims in Pakistan don’t represent Sunnis. This is not sectarian violence. This is ISI-sponsored terrorism.
We hope TFT will stop publishing propaganda which gives Shia persecution and target killing an ethnic color. Similarly, anyone who describes target killing of Shia Muslims in Pakistan as a routine sectarian violence contributes to misrepresentation of Shia genocide by the ISI-sponsored Jihadi-sectarian militants.
We will welcome all genuinely representative research on Shias, Ahmadis and other oppressed groups and urge Pakistan’s urban elites, including those in English language media, to consider engaging with genuine Shia, Ahmadi, Baloch, Pashtun activists before writing “on” them?
Ahmadiyya Muslims’ reaction:
Ahmadis on Twitter have strongly reacted to misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the anti-Ahmadi legislation at least in one article (by Raza Rumi) in the current issue of TFT. Raza Rumi writes with respect to second amendment in Pakistan’s constitution: “The amendment did not explicitly mention the Ahmadi community and has been used by hardliner Sunni clerics to also target the Shia community in Pakistan.”
Here are a few comments from Twitter: ----- " Wasif ? @wasifsa Never was the 2nd Amendment in Pakistan’s constitution used by the State of Sunni clerics against Shia Muslims as claimed by Raza Rumi in his TFT article. The article serves to save the strategic assets of the Army aka LeJ and blame it on legislation for Shia Killing
The article presents the author as a supporter of the status quo, and the misrepresentation of second amendment is tantamount to hijacking the Ahmadi cause
Two major English media groups today published dishonest reports/articles against Ahmadiyya Community! Sheep in wolf’s clothing!
Mr. Raza Rumi writes that the second amendment was used against Shia Muslims and Ahmadis were not the only target. This is factually wrong. Very very deplorable stance. Author must have read the Law himself before scribbling!
The second amendment is specifically anti-Ahmadis. It has nothing to do with or against Shia Muslims. Shia Muslims are being targeted by the Strategic Assets of the Pakistani Punjabi Army, not by the second amendment.
Will @AhmadiyyaTimes @Al_Ufaq #PakistanBlogzine, #LUBP and #FridayTimes publish an article against this dishonesty twitpic.com/8qy2yq
Text of Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan. “A person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of The Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the last of the Prophets or claims to be a Prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (Peace be upon him), or recognizes such a claimant as a Prophet or religious reformer, is not a Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution or law.”
Naeem Shamim ? @naeemshamim Misrepresentation of #ShiaKillings and using the Ahmadi Persecution pedestal for it is a shameless act!
Sohaib Mengal Baloch ? @MirSohaib @najamsethi justified kill and dump in Balochistan in his last night’s show. Calls it national interest.
Naeem Shamim ? @naeemshamim @MirSohaib @najamsethi and this morning published a piece in his TFT magazine that is full of lies
Selective Morality is the common heritage of all Fake Liberals of Pakistan!
Blame the Shia killings on a law that is purely against Ahmadis and save the Army’s Strategic Assets! That’s Raza Rumi’s Logic?
Instead of naming the true killers of the Shia, TFT tried to hijack the Ahmadi Persecution cause
Mullahs in the Urdu Print/Electronic media , Mullah-like creatures in the English media!
Raza Rumi has let many of us down today! Now thats what makes the so called intelligentsia of the Islami Jamhooriya!
The Friday Times must publish an apology for this blunder! Must not allow such nonsense to get published ----- Update: We appreciate the fact that Raza Rumi has revised his article by amending/inserting the following line: “The amendment explicitly targetted the Ahmadi community but has also been used by hardliner Sunni clerics to target the Shia community in Pakistan.” We, however, look forward to Ahmadi Muslims response to this editing. At the same time, we stand by our concerns about grave misrepresentation of Shia genocide in numerous articles the current issue of TFT.
.. tough stuff to read when it's all so strange .. i guess the point the 2nd article is alleging is this one ..
"We want to assert that Hazras are killed because they are Shia not because they are Hazras. Any attempt to hide the Shia identity in turn hides the real motives of the LeJ-SSP killers and enables further Shia genocide. Moreover, those who are killing Shia Muslims in Pakistan don’t represent Sunnis. This is not sectarian violence. This is ISI-sponsored terrorism."
On that last point, the authors are absolutely right -- more transparency about targeting and effects would help everyone understand the consequences of drone strikes in Pakistan. And there are absolutely serious downsides to these strikes (some of which have been explored here .. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/12/unaccountable-killing-machines-the-true-cost-of-us-drones/250661/ .. already). But the report then makes some questionable claims based on incomplete data, and seems to argue that the drone campaign should be paused or radically altered. Those arguments are not well supported.
For starters, the sample size of the study is 130 people. In a country of 175 million, that is just not representative. 130 respondents isn't representative even of the 800,000 or so people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the region of Pakistan where most drone strikes occur. Moreover, according to the report's methodology section, there is no indication of how many respondents were actual victims of drone strikes, since among those 130 they also interviewed "current and former Pakistani government officials, representatives from five major Pakistani political parties, subject matter experts, lawyers, medical professionals, development and humanitarian workers, members of civil society, academics, and journalists."
The Living Under Drones report has some serious bias issues.
The authors did not conduct interviews in the FATA, but Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Peshawar. The direct victims they interviewed were contacted initially by the non-profit advocacy group Foundation for Fundamental Rights, which is not a neutral observer (their explicit mission is to end the use of drones in Pakistan). The report relies on a database compiled by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which relies on media accounts for most of its data .. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/01/11/obama-2012-strikes/ . The authors discount the utility of relying on media accounts, since media in Pakistan .. [ Cafe Jhangvi and Lashkar-e-Jang .. http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=85237046 ] rely on the Pakistani government for information (reporters are not allowed independent access to the FATA). Even accepting their description of the BIJ data as the most "reliable," these data are highly suspect.
The Living Under Drones report, in other words, has some serious bias issues. But that doesn't mean it should be discarded: the section on social and political blowback from drone strikes is well documented .. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/the-political-consequences-of-a-drones-first-policy/252129/ .. and in line with other research. In summary, the report declares that the use of drones in Pakistan is a campaign of terror, creating severe psychological trauma among residents of the FATA and creating a pervasive environment of fear.
Left unstated in the report, though, is a bigger question: is there a better alternative to drone strikes for counterterrorism in northwest Pakistan?
There have been no reported mass movements of people fleeing the drones in the last four years. The mere threat of a Pakistani army offensive into Waziristan, however, prompts thousands .. http://tribune.com.pk/story/426570/thousands-flee-waziristan-in-fear-of-military-offensive/ .. to flee in terror. There are several possible explanations: for example, people in heavily affected drone areas might be terrified to leave their houses.
But there is a simpler explanation: Perhaps drones are not as scary as opponents claim. A February investigation .. http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2012/02/25/ap_impact_new_light_on_drone_wars_death_toll/ .. by the Associated Press -- which, unlike the Living Under Drones study, interviewed Pakistanis inside the FATA -- reported .. http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2012/02/25/ap_impact_new_light_on_drone_wars_death_toll/?page=1 .. that civilian casualties from drones are far lower than Pakistan civil society figures, journalists, and party officials assert publicly. This calls into question the wisdom of relying on such interested parties to build a picture of the utility and morality of targeted killings in Pakistan. Furthermore, the Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP), a Pakistan-based research group, consistently finds in its surveys .. http://www.understandingfata.org/en/?p=4 .. within the FATA that the most pressing security fear among residents is bomb blasts by terror groups, followed closely by the Pakistani military. When asked open-ended questions about their greatest fears, very few ever mention drones.
That's not to say people love drones. Many constituencies in the rest of the country are strongly opposed to the drone campaign. But both terror groups and the Pakistani military kill far more innocent civilians and leave far more physical devastation in their wake -- what is the "least bad" course for policymakers?
In the short run, there aren't better choices than drones. The targets of drone strikes in Pakistan sponsor insurgents in the region that kill U.S. soldiers and destabilize the Pakistani state (that is why Pakistani officials demand greater control over targeting .. http://tribune.com.pk/story/404368/pakistan-not-pushing-for-end-to-us-drone-strikes/ ). They cannot simply be left alone to continue such violent attacks. And given the Pakistani government's reluctance either to grant the FATA the political inclusion necessary for normal governance or to establish an effective police force (right now it has neither), there is no writ of the state to impose order and establish the rule of law.
Drones represent the choice with the smallest set of drawbacks and adverse consequences. Reports like Living Under Drones highlight the need for both more transparency from the US and Pakistani governments, and for drawing attention to the social backlash against their use in Pakistan. But they do not definitively build a case against drones in general. Without a better alternative, drones are here to stay.
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