Greetings from Pakistan! (And no, I havent gotten married)

I've been in Pakistan for nearly ten days now, and while most of the days were in Islamabad, relaxing with friends and family, I was reminded of how dire the situation is on a constant, day-to-day basis. There are police checkpoints everywhere. The checking would add at least 5 or 10 minutes to your commute, in a city that is pretty small - compared to Lahore at least.

While I was in Islamabad, the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar (the only 5 star hotel in the entire Northwest Frontier Province just an hour north of Islamabad) was bombed, in very much a similar style to the recent bombings at law enforcement agency offices in Lahore, as well as the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad of last year. Combine the two, and you have nothing but mayhem - a terrorist's dream come true. Many of my friends and colleagues reminded me to take good care when I visited Pakistan in January 2008. Lahore had just experienced its first major terrorist attack during my visit at the time, when the police contingent outside the Lahore High Court was attacked by a suicide bomber. Imagine the fear in our hearts when we realized this was a short distance away from my cousins' law offices.

My family and I went out to dinner to the now-renovated-and-open-for-business Marriott Hotel when I was in Islamabad last week. To call that place a fortress is an understatement. I wonder if Israelis live in as much fear of terrorists as we civilian Pakistanis do now? I mean, there was a checkpoint down the road from the hotel, then one in front of it. Cars are simply not allowed inside the hotel complex anymore (I wonder where the valet service took our car that night?). We walked through a 15 foot barrier of sand, water and concrete, through metal detectors and then finally down a newly constructed ramp that brought you right in front of the hotel doors. A lobby that once buzzed and hummed with energy was now a barren wasteland. I could even hear the silverware clanking, something impossible if you were ever there when the lobby restaurant's singer sang old film songs and the dozens of guests chatted while foreigners conducted business.

My father has solemn memories of the hotel from last year. He often went there for dinner or high tea and the staff recognized him - some of whom lost their lives in the tragic attack. One of the waiters serving us that night survived. What questions, or memories, must haunt them? I shudder to think and hesitate to ask. Needless to say, dinner is bittersweet. It might be a world class establishment, but unfortunately, its recent history will always guide its future.

I arrived in Lahore on the weekend and feel as if ive been stuffed inside a brick oven! It's so hot that I can honestly feel the heat seeping into my skin from the sofa, for example. Westerners cannot understand the lifestyle here, because they are so accustomed to air conditioning. Well, that's a joke here, since the electricity doesnt work half the day - literally! It's called loadshedding and happens in India as well, but it wreaks more havoc across the border, here in Pakistan, because of the dire economic situation.

Speaking of which, the budget was just announced and education accounts for barely one percent of GDP. Industrialized nations budget between three and five percent for education, so we have a long way to go, definitely. The World Bank came out with a report (or some sort of assessment) which I cant locate for now, but the two important conclusions from the article I read were that 1) Madrassah enrollment accounts for around one percent of student enrollment in educational institutions. ie, madrassah students should not be looked at as a credible threat to the country or international security, for that matter. And 2) Private schools are increasingly taking on the challenges that the public sector has shied away from. Private school students have shown superior performance and overall more "bang for the buck".

It should come as no surprise that there is yet another increase in defense spending. Power to the army! I can understand why we need to increase it (can we get some serious support to fight the Taliban, please?), but please, someone explain to me why the U.S. needs to do so? The military-industrial complex in the U.S. that a former U.S. President warned of (Truman? Eisenhower?) is very much a reality in Pakistan as well. Read Ayesha Siddiqa Agha's work for some fascinating insight on this topic, but meanwhile, i've become a staunch supporter of at least direct support to the Pakistani army. They're the ones on the frontlines, fighting this raging insurgency in the country's north. They, along with other law enforcement officers/officials, will always be prime targets. They need true and real assistance. A simple bullet proof vest will go far.

I was pleasantly surprised - and a bit taken aback - when I saw an ad in the local paper for a company that produced these and other vests and devices that might protect law enforcement officers. Great to see that the product is in the marketplace, but why must this company advertise these goods? Is it not logical that the army definitely needs these, no questions asked? I remember an episode of Larry King Live from last year when the American entertainer, Cher, was making the rounds in the media drumming up support for helmets that soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan should use considering the roadside and suicide bombings they were fast becoming victims to. Well, now our soldiers need them too. I'm surprised no one is asking these logical questions and demanding these devices be mandatory. In due time, I truly hope.

And lastly, it's become customary for my South Asian friends to tease me about my age and marital status (i'll be 28 in September and am single). At about my age, South Asian men and their families embark on a journey to find a suitable spouse for the "candidate". Marriage is essentially a social contract in South Asia, as well as the Arab world in general. Spouses (or couples, by extension) are not just friends and companions but also agents of social change, in that, they build bridges and establish linkages among families. This was especially common in the Mughal/medieval times when marriages were almost solely done by virtue of family background. As long as there were similarities between prospective spouses, the rest could be worked on.

So alas, this brings me to my predicament. An eligible bachelor, on vacation for several weeks in his native hometown, yet no word of marriage, or even an engagement? Some of my South Asian friends inquired - half-jokingly - about my "plans" for this trip. My answer of "rest, relaxation and recreation" did not go far with them. For now, I am not letting this issue stress me out. I enjoy what independence I have and am hopeful for the future. A positive approach should do me well, I think!

On that upbeat note, I part ways. Since there is plenty to update you on, i'll try to write soon...

Bhutto killed in attack

Pakistanis around the world are still trying to make sense of this horrific situation. Thanks to all those who have expressed concern and thanks even more for the prayers. Surely, they will not go un-answered.

I travel to Pakistan this weekend and arrive in Islamabad, amid tight security, I assume. Keep me in your prayers as well!

I was never a fan of Benazir and, in fact, thought she did more harm to Pakistan than good, but under no circumstances should such treatment be meted out to any individual.

"From Him do we come, and to Him shall we return..."

The myth of Muslim support for terror

This article made my day! I love the Christian Science Monitor as a media outlet to begin with, but wish their mass appeal somehow made its way down South or further West where mainstream America should be reading it as a matter of habit.

The results of the polls do not surprise me; it is the publishing/coverage of them in a major media outlet that does. But then again, the CS Monitor is always a step ahead of the rest of its peers.

I've copied the article in its entirety below. Happy reading and enjoy the weekend!

The myth of Muslim support for terror

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews.

By Kenneth Ballen

Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland's prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that "bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians" are "never justified," while 24 percent believe these attacks are "often or sometimes justified."

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world's most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are "never justified"; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent.

Do these findings mean that Americans are closet terrorist sympathizers?

Hardly. Yet, far too often, Americans and other Westerners seem willing to draw that conclusion about Muslims. Public opinion surveys in the United States and Europe show that nearly half of Westerners associate Islam with violence and Muslims with terrorists. Given the many radicals who commit violence in the name of Islam around the world, that's an understandable polling result.

But these stereotypes, affirmed by simplistic media coverage and many radicals themselves, are not supported by the facts – and they are detrimental to the war on terror. When the West wrongly attributes radical views to all of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, it perpetuates a myth that has the very real effect of marginalizing critical allies in the war on terror.

Indeed, the far-too-frequent stereotyping of Muslims serves only to reinforce the radical appeal of the small minority of Muslims who peddle hatred of the West and others as authentic religious practice.

Terror Free Tomorrow's 20-plus surveys of Muslim countries in the past two years reveal another surprise: Even among the minority who indicated support for terrorist attacks and Osama bin Laden, most overwhelmingly approved of specific American actions in their own countries. For example, 71 percent of bin Laden supporters in Indonesia and 79 percent in Pakistan said they thought more favorably of the United States as a result of American humanitarian assistance in their countries – not exactly the profile of hard-core terrorist sympathizers. For most people, their professed support of terrorism/bin Laden can be more accurately characterized as a kind of "protest vote" against current US foreign policies, not as a deeply held religious conviction or even an inherently anti- American or anti-Western view.

In truth, the common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews. Whether recruits to violent causes join gangs in Los Angeles or terrorist cells in Lahore, the enemy is the violence they exalt.

Our surveys show that not only do Muslims reject terrorism as much if not more than Americans, but even those who are sympathetic to radical ideology can be won over by positive American actions that promote goodwill and offer real hope.

America's goal, in partnership with Muslim public opinion, should be to defeat terrorists by isolating them from their own societies. The most effective policies to achieve that goal are the ones that build on our common humanity. And we can start by recognizing that Muslims throughout the world want peace as much as Americans do.

• Kenneth Ballen is founder and president of Terror Free Tomorrow, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to finding effective policies that win popular support away from global terrorists.

Mr. Ballen's contact info is below - send him a thank you note!

Ken Ballen, President

Terror Free Tomorrow

(202) 274-1800 x 201

Kballen@terrorfreetomorrow.org

www.terrorfreetomorrow.org

PO Box 5704

Washington, DC 20016

My article: "Guantanamo: the terror lives on"

January 11th marks the day when Gutananamo Bay received its first inmates five years ago. Just a few months ago, we commemorated the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and now, on a much smaller level, a much smaller group of people are commemorating the demise of human rights and civil liberties in the nation that championed those causes for centuries.

I have been extremely depressed and distressed at the situation at hand. After reading numerous books on Gitmo, and after having finished one just last night, I find myself in a constant state of anxiety and suffer from mild headaches every now and then. How can this country let such an atrocity go on? My anger at American human rights violations knows no bounds. The only thing that can anger me more is the double standards we continue to propagate the world over.

I can go on and on and invite comments - constructive and destructive - but will instead draw your attention to the article I've copied below which was published in the Pakistani newspaper I write a column for, The Post.

Waiting for a miracle - or a revolution?

Guantanamo: the terror lives on

I have been living in the US for several years now, but have failed to understand the recent and highly disturbing trend that can be observed in this country regarding human rights violations. The country that once prided itself on being a beacon for those seeking the protection and enjoyment of those rights is today the same country that blatantly violates them. The US is no longer a harbinger of hope for those who are persecuted the world over; instead, it inspires deadly fear and anxiety and has lost the stature it once held in a world already plagued with countless wrongs.

A constant reminder of this negative role the US is now playing in the realm of human rights is none other than the very existence of Guantanamo Bay. I have written about Guantanamo numerous times before in this column space. It has mostly been because all, if not the vast majority, of the detainees are Muslims of Arab or South Asian heritage. In solidarity, I stood with them, writing articles like the one you are reading right now, hoping someone, somewhere would read it and contact an influential member of their social circle or community, and help spread the word about the atrocities going on in the name of national security and protection of civilians.

But alas, today, Americans are no better protected than they were before 9/11. In fact, the world is an even more treacherous place, perhaps more so because of the blatant human rights violations going on in places like Guantanamo. These gross injustices give fuel to the fire of terrorism that threatens to rip across the Muslim world if we do not contain it soon.

And yet, the American authorities do not realize how simple it is to both uphold these sacred values they helped enshrine, and to still wage a much-needed war against terrorism and terrorists. If only these officials knew that this process begins with respect; respect for life, for civilization, for values. In its blind quest for superiority and supremacy in anything and everything, the US forgot that greed and selfishness can only harm those who indulge in these acts.

Guantanamo is the antithesis of everything Americans hold sacred. Yet today, as we commemorate the day it received its first inmates five years ago, it stands tall and proud as the tarnished image of what the new US has come to reflect: double standards, hypocrisy and the alarming disrespect for things the civilised world holds in high esteem. While over 500 Muslim men languish in conditions we shudder to think of, the US continues to export torture to other countries. In the 21st century, torture has officially become an exportable commodity, the product of a few decades of poor policy that remains unchanged. As if it was not bad enough that Americans are indulging in this horrific act, they are coercing other countries to pursue similar policies.

Guantanamo has, for many months, been eliminated from the international agenda. We no longer see human rights experts calling for its closure, or for the due trial of its inhabitants. Instead, Britney Spears’ misdeeds are splashed all over the pages of newspapers and sensationalism regarding anything that can potentially harm Americans is drilled into our heads as a credible “threat” to our lives. What the American authorities do not realize in their haste to protect their people is that they can do their countrymen a much better service by not only advocating social justice and fairness, but also by proving that they hold these principles close to their hearts for those of other nationalities as well.

Five years after Guantanamo received its first prisoners, I walk the streets of New York City in perpetual fear; Fear that, one day, out of nowhere, I can be picked up off the street, never to be seen again. My tranquility will forever be snatched from me and my dreams will forever be shattered. If places like Guantanamo exist to show us what our future can be, then I will never be able to sleep peacefully at night. If places like Guantanamo exist to ensure my safety and security, then the terror it inspires in my heart must be curbed.

President Bush, I hope you are reading this.