Nearly a million people have been made homeless in the Pakistan military assault on North Waziristan. The campaign is launched at the behest of the US to serve imperial interests. It will cost Pakistan dearly.
Hundreds of thousands of tribesmen from Pakistan’s North Waziristan region have been displaced as a result of a massive bombing campaign by the army. Most refugees, however, have refused to go to camps set up by the government. Their plight is really grim.
Under pressure from the US, the Pakistani military has launched massive strikes on North Waziristan in what is termed as going after "foreign terrorists" from Uzbekistan. How do they distinguish between foreign and local militants? Thousands of people--women, children and the elderly--have started fleeing their homes and have been turned into refugees. Many have fled to neighboring Afghanistan.
Who was behind the kidnapping of Pakistani anti-drone activist Kareem Khan from his house in Islamabad? He told a press conference after his release that 20 men, some wearing police uniforms kidnapped him in the middle of the night. Khan was about to leave for Europe where he was to testify before European parliaments about the massive civilian casualties caused by US drone strikes. He lost a brother and son to such strikes in 2009.
Given president George Bush’s limited grasp of international affairs, it would be unrealistic to expect him to understand why America is hated so much worldwide, but his advisors should be better equipped to deal with the reality of global politics.
