Current Events

Pakistan Is The Biggest Victim Of Terrorism

By Citizen Correspondent Hassan Mahbub
Date Posted: 12/30/07
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The brutal murder of Benazir Bhutto brings yet another attack on the people, freedom and sovereignty of Pakistan. The fact that her assassination took place just a few yards away from where the first PM of Pakistan, Muhammad Liaquat Ali Khan was shot in October 1951, shows how history repeats itself in Pakistan. His assassin was shot on the assassination spot, Bhutto's assassin killed himself on the spot. (Video montage courtesy http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=xtratrash)

Pakistan is the biggest victim of terrorism, the roots of which date back to December 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded neighboring Afghanistan. The United States, fearful of facing the Red Army directly, decided to carry out a covert war by providing funds, training and weapons to whom they then called freedom fighters and now call terrorists.

For a decade, the US funded the training of these 'freedom fighters,' recruiting them from the three million refugees in Pakistan. After 1989, when the Soviets left Afghanistan, the US not only abandoned the 'freedom fighters', but also abandoned Pakistan. The US left them to fight a civil war using the most modern weapons they had provided them and made no true effort to disarm these fighters.

Had they tried to at least form a government in Afghanistan and fund some level of reconstruction in return for winning them the Cold War, we would probably not have come across the 'War on Terror" currently going on. This reality has been shown in newly released movie casting Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, Charlie Wilson's War.

In 2007 alone, Pakistan has suffered over 160 terrorist attacks which have claimed over 1900 innocent lives with targets ranging from the President, ministers, army officials and now politicians who may be a threat to them in future. Yet, the West alleges that Pakistan is not doing enough to fight these terrorists.

Some rogue elements in the West even accuse Pakistan of actually training these fighters to go across the border and fight the coalition in Afghanistan. The West expects us to fight these fighters and finish them overnight. Pakistan has lost over 1000 soldiers fighting them with the aim to stop them from crossing the border with Afghanistan.


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