Of lobsters, whales and the Taliban

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By Irfan Husain

talibanselected4.jpgOne of the joys of being on the eastern coast of Canada is the availability of lobsters. Some time back we were invited to a lobster boil on the beach to celebrate our friend Giles Walker’s daughter Kaisa’s engagement, and each guest had one of the delicious crustaceans with lemon-butter sauce, apart from an array of salads and pies. The meal was followed by fireworks, and a long tramp along a forest trail to return to our cars parked half a mile away.

Earlier in the day, we had gone on a whale-watching expedition on a fast Zodiac speedboat called the Fundy Tide Runner. Although there was some fog, we did spot a few finback and humpback whales. With the engines switched off, we listened for the gentle giants in the mist, and the eerie “whoosh!” of their distinctive exhalation pointed the way to the spot they had surfaced. Although some of these creatures attain lengths of over 50 feet, they accept the proximity of humans without any sign of aggression.

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War in Pakistan: A Battle to the Death

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Whoever started it, however we got involved in it, the time for blame game is long past. This is our battle now and this is a battle to the death.

By Anwaar Hussain

terr4.jpgIn the four days after General Musharraf resigned from Pakistan’s presidency, more than 130 innocent people have been blown to bits in just two suicide bombings across the country. Scores of others have been maimed for life. The message from the God-men is clear. It is Pakistan they are after; its governments, democratic or autocratic, be damned.

The cowardly murderers now leer in their dark caves, foam drooling from their mouths, at the prospect that they will soon have the whole of Pakistan, transported back in time and all trussed up, lying at their feet. Somewhere in the back ground, cuddling their explosive laden jackets, legions of brainwashed children sway back and forth in a trance worshipping a deity that knows no compassion. The orders for the next strike will be here soon and the programmers will set these children, with catches released, on course to yet another carnage, tick-tocking all the way.

The News is the most widely read English language newspaper in Pakistan. This is how its Friday’s editorial reads;

“This is a fight very much to the death — for our very way of life, to protect and preserve it from people whose ‘qualities’ include intolerance, bigotry, hatred and downright bestiality. The sooner this is realized — by all Pakistanis, by the state and its various institutions and by the present government — the better.”

Finally someone has said it. Yes. What exactly needs to be said is this. Whoever started it, however we got involved in it, the time for blame game is long past. This is our battle now and this is a battle to the death. Nothing less will suffice. Like the Interior Minster said the other day, we either fight back or hand over the country to these terrorists.

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Son of a Lion

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pust.jpgAustralian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour’s debut movie, Son of a Lion, tells the story of a young Pashtun boy who wants to escape working in his father’s weapons workshop and go to school. Gilmour speaks to Spiegel Online about his attempt to combat negative stereotypes about the Pashtun people.

For most people in the West, Pakistan’s remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan held little interest - until Osama bin Laden and his fellow Al-Qaeda fanatics decided to hole up there. The tough terrain and the Pashtun people’s tribal code of hospitality has provided them with protection ever since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan over six years ago.

Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour visited the region before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and was captivated by the local Pashtun people. Horrified by the post-9/11 negative images of the tribal areas in the Western media, he decided to go back secretly and make a film about the people that showed them in their true light. He and his local assistant director managed to shoot a story about a young 11-year-old boy who dreams of escaping his father’s weapons workshop and going to school. The simple story, which was co-written by the local people in the village of Darra Adam Khel, is a delicate portrait of a father-and-son relationship, which portrays the local people as well-informed about politics and far from supporters of the Taliban.

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Taliban breached NATO base in deadly clash

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By Carlotta Gall and Eric Schmitt - International Herald Tribune

taliban_fighters_attending_funeral-2.jpgJuly 15, 2008-The Taliban insurgents who attacked a remote American-run outpost near the Pakistan border on Sunday numbered nearly 200 fighters, almost three times the size of the allied force, and some breached the NATO compound in a coordinated assault that took the defenders by surprise, Western officials said Monday.

The attackers were driven back in a pitched four-hour battle, and appeared to suffer scores of dead and wounded of their own, but the toll they inflicted was sobering. The base and a nearby observation post were manned by just 45 American troops and 25 Afghan soldiers, two senior allied officials said, asking for anonymity while an investigation is under way.

With 9 Americans dead and at least 15 injured, that means that one in five of the American defenders was killed and nearly half the remainder were wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were also injured.

American and Afghan forces started building the makeshift base just last week and its defenses were not fully in place, said one senior allied official. In some places, troops were using their vehicles as barriers against insurgents.

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Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


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