Former Interior Minister Senator A. Rehman Malik condemns terror attack on Church in Quetta

Senator A.Senator A. Rehman Malik speech in the Senate of Pakistan

The disputed recognition of Jerusalem by Senator A. Rehman Malik

I condemn Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which has been rejected by the majority of world leaders. Shortly before Trump’s announcement, in November 2017, 151 nations of the United Nations General Assembly voted to reject Israeli ties to Jerusalem . Six nations voted against the resolution, and nine abstained. All the Muslim countries of the world including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have strongly condemned the decision and have shown their timely and the right support for Palestinian Muslims.

President Trump is known for his controversial decision within USA but now he is disturbing international order by giving such statements, which imply that USA is tending to bury the issue of Palestine. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on December 7 where 14 out of 15 members condemned Trump’s decision. The Security Council said the decision to recognise Jerusalem was in violation of UN resolutions and international law, but was unable to issue a statement without the endorsement of the United States. Britain, France, Sweden, Italy and Japan were among the countries, which criticised Trump’s decision in the emergency meeting.

The T.V channels are roaring with protests against the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital by USA and the write ups on this subject forced me to think as to why this has been attracted attention of the world? I think USA has deliberately re-announced it with some motives to benifit Israel.

America has always backed Israel’s decisions of putting an unjust claim to the Palestinian soil. Back in 2002, when Israel started building a “security fence” claiming to protect Israeli citizens from suicide bombers, it clearly violated the international law. Israel still continues to do that with the support of US. The entire world witnessed that the separation wall created by the Israelis is a major de facto annexation of Palestinian territories. Israel’s goal all along was to increase settlement expansion and to control Palestinian economic areas, agricultural grounds and natural resources like water. The annexation of the land of Palestinians by Israel continues, even though the International Court of Justice has ruled that the West Bank Barrier of Israel is in complete violation of International Law. Currently Israel occupies 261 Jewish-only settlements and ‘outposts’, which are forcefully built on Palestinian land, confiscated by carrying out violent operations.

Israel has fooled the world time and again by launching hostile operations on Palestinians, particularly on Gaza, claiming to protect its citizens. In the turmoil of war waged by Israelis on innocent Palestinians, at least 48,488 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel, whereas not even a single Israeli home has been damaged since 1967. Furthermore, at least 9,510 Palestinians are killed since September 29, 2000 and 95,299 Palestinians have been injured. However, US continues its unconventional support to Israel; in year 2016 alone, U.S. provided Israel with at least $10.1 million per day in military aid.

The tension between the member states in the Middle East has always been a key area of interest for the US. Saudi Arabia and Iran both are Muslim majority states, but diplomatically do not see eye to eye on several geo political issues, oil export policies and alliances. For months, America tried to build on harmonious relations with the Middle Eastern countries and it seemed as if the new government aimed at strengthening the ties among allies.

The recent visit of US president to Saudi Arabia and the deal made gave an indication of intentions. However, now the recent decision of Donald Trump will aggravate the political atmosphere in the Middle East, because of the religious implication the city of Jerusalem hold in the Muslim World. Yet US was aiming to take the allies along with the decision, hence leading to a rise in temperature in the political environment.

The recent meeting of Muslim head of states duly chaired by Donald Trump was very meaningful and helpful for USA. It is believed that the intel regarding the Iranian motives against Saudi Arabia was provided by Israel, through the visiting American authority.
The similar information believed to have been passed against Qatar too, which obviously has created a wedge within the Muslim Ummah.

Moreover, USA may have its next move to manipulate some Muslim states to recognize Jerusalem as Capital of Israel. In fact, USA and Israel are glued together because of strong hold of the Jewish lobby in the economy and media of the US. More so, the backing of Fox group to Donald Trump is no more a secret and naturally Donald Trump cannot survive without Jewsish lobby in the USA. So, helping Israel has become a compulsion for President Donald Trump.

Now media from Muslims world will certainly make Jerusalem even more disputed as a capital. I see a serious rift developing between Iran and Saudi Arabia and in the meantime there would be row between Israel on the statement of Army Chief of Iran claiming to destroy Israel in seven and half minutes. The recent statements of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia against Iran, and the statements of Iranian officials against Saudi Arabia should be taken seriously as it can trigger worst situation. Moreover, the world may witness Israel backing some Muslim countries against Iran in the near future as the events unfold.

The confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia will further divide the Muslim Ummah and its beneficiaries will be countries like Israel. The past growth of Israel and its ongoing affairs with USA and India will be a power boaster in pursuit for the symbolically acceptance of Jerusalem as Capital followed by its recognition as a country. Lot of people see it as a right of a sovereign state to recognize any other state but this issue is different as the region is disputed and Palestinian land is under forced occupation of Israel. Has USA forgotten the most recent mass killing of women and children in Gaza?

USA should have realised that Jerusalem is religiously important to Muslims for many reasons. First of all, Jerusalem was Islam’s first direction of prayer (Qibla), before this was changed to Makkah. These sentiments and the change of Qibla for Muslims are recorded in the Qur’an 2:142-152. Jerusalem was also a key stage of the Prophet Muhammad’s (S.A.W.) profound nocturnal spiritual journey known as al-Isra’ wal-Mi’raj (“the night journey and ascension”) during which he had a vision of God. Muslim are right in their protest as this area is disputed land and Donald Trump has deliberately declared Jerusalem as capital of Israel, which would rightly charge the emotions of the Muslim.

It looks like that USA has been bent upon to further add fire into the Israel - Palestine issue by making such unwarranted recognition . We need to demand from Donald Trump to immediately withdraw this decision and to apologize from the entire Muslim world for making this relentless decision of recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel.

The Article was published by The Nation on December 15, 2017 and the link to the original article is 

http://nation.com.pk/15-Dec-2017/the-disputed-recognition-of-jerusalem

USA’s political strategies in Asia by Senator A. Rehman Malik

We are a nation which has suffered many times at the hands of USA and despite knowing this well we still fall in its trap every time. History is witness to the fact that these traps are either just before or post martial laws.

Let me remind that USA first came to Pakistan in July 1957, when U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower took permission from a Pakistani dictator to establish a secret U.S. intelligence facility in Pakistan and for the U-2 spy plane to fly from Pakistan against the Soviets, which they used and later exploited.

A facility established in Badaber Air Base, 10 miles (16 km) from Peshawar, was an excellent location because of its proximity to Soviet Union and its Central Asian satellites. It was Pakistan who eventually suffered by this operation as Russia had started backing India, which ultimately resulted into isolation of Pakistan, as the 7th USA fleet never came to our rescue.

The suffering did not end here. Soon after the Soviets entered Afghanistan in 1979, USA made Pakistan a tool to fuel and train Afghan Mujahedeen. It was General Zia, under whose supervision these Mujahedeen were given military training and it consequently gave rise to a militant Islam, a flood of refugees and illicit arms and drugs on our soil for the sake of a couple of dollars. By year 1988, the drug exchange was earning more than $4 billion of foreign exchange, more than all Pakistan’s legal exports combined. We suffered serious economic setbacks followed by large-scale terrorism within our state, and the seed of this extremism in the form of Jihadis was planted by CIA.

While we were yet striving for our survival, the strike on World Trade Centre in September 2001 changed the world completely. This time again we chose our own suffering by allowing USA to use our soil. Despite not a single Pakistani being involved in the said attack, the history is a witness to how Pakistan paid the price for 9/11.

Soon after 9/11 and other US attacks, US waged war against Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, and Pakistan was expected to participate in the so called war against terror. Five days after September 11, 2001, the then dictator General Pervez Musharraf, pledged support for the U.S. efforts to capture Bin Laden and fight militant groups and all the Taliban members associated with Al Qaeda. Later on, USA started to secure Afghanistan for its own strategic use and created Talban and Daesh to be used as the best tool to create unrest in the region to provide the reasons for USA to prolong their stay in Afghanistan.

On 22nd June 2011, President Obama announced that USA would be withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. However, I had declared it to be a lie immediately after this announcement, as I knew that USA would never leave from Afghanistan. My assessment proved to be true as rather than withdrawing its forces, new US Administration has solidified itself in the region by bringing India on board against China and Pakistan.

The nation must understand that serious efforts and conspiracies will always be there to destabilise Pakistan, including exasperating the ethnic and sectarian divide the way they did in Iraq war by installing Abu baker Baghdadi as an Islamic militant. A similar attempt will be made to work out an excuse to propagate against Pakistan and its nuclear assets, portraying it to be an unsafe land and USA clearly intends to carry out this plan with India by its side supporting Afghanistan together against Pakistan.

On the other hand USA with every possible means and efforts is trying to destabilise China just like Pakistan. But why China? Because it sees China as a competition/threat in the race to be a global superpower. USA supports India against China to stop it from being a military and economic power. In case war breaks out between India and China, USA will support India by providing arms and ammunitions. It can influence other countries also to support India against China as Chinese economy is growing very fast and it would become world’s number one economy soon. Moreover, the One Belt and One Road would facilitate and boost export of Chinese goods to the world through this corridor and Pakistan will also get the immense benefits to improve its economy and move towards development and progress. I foresee some propaganda from some quarters within Pakistan duly engineered by anti Pak-China groups.

If you examine the presence of USA in the region you will find out that there is always some motive or agenda hidden behind it. The motives can be well understood by the statement of former President Karzai and I respect him as he spoke the truth. He had shared with me that some Taliban factions are fully supported by USA. I found him helpless when he stated that you get Mullah Brothers and he would request the Americans to help in closing the training camps of Brahamdagh Bugti.

It was alarming to see a President of a country being helpless to operate freely. I, however, owe appreciation to President Karzai, as at least he was the first Afghan leader who ever dared to expose the USA agenda in Afghanistan.

If we look deep into the pattern of operations by USA, we as nation must act very carefully and we should try to end internal polarization. Moreover, given the circumstances, Pak-China safety lies in signing a defence pact to defend each other against the USA - Indian aggression. As in the past India tried to break us apart and it will not miss a chance to do that again. So we must not forget the tragic separation of East Pakistan in 1971 and keep a clear eye on India and its recently formed alliance/bond with USA.

Furthermore, the new shift of strategic approach of USA for Asia and Middle East is now visible with the statements of President Donald Trump and Secretary State regarding CPEC, One Belt, One Road continued USA military presences in Afghanistan, “do more” stick for Pakistan and total military support to India in this region. This new USA geo-political strategy and cold wars between three major world powers are bound to create regional imbalance.

The focus on war on terror seems to be finishing and it looks the tug of war is now on geo-economic war to control the world with the economic empowerment by creating divisions within the regions in different grounds and the policy of divide and rule will continue as usual only with the change of faces.

The suffering of Pakistan is a big historical lesson for other nations to learn. The struggle of developing countries should be to be able to remove the shackles of reliance on international financial institutions like IMF and World Bank for finances, which will provide them more economic freedom for decision making in their foreign and national security policies.

Pakistan must consider ways and means to retire its long outstanding debts which is not only hindering its economic growth but making Pakistan succumb to the undue international pressures. We will progress only if Pakistan is free of external pressures of “do more”. So we must make our policies free of external pressures so that it leads us to right path of national development.

The Article was published by daily "The Nation" dated 12.12.20117.

Link to the original article is:USA's Political Strategies in Asia by Senator A. Rehman Malik

Muslim Ummah Counter Terrorism Force by Senator A. Rehman Malik

It was a great encouragement to see representatives from entire Muslim world together deliberating on the forum of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition’s (IMCTC) Ministers of Defence Council to counter terrorism. HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led the meeting. All the participants agreed on formulating a strategy to deal with the menace of terrorism. The steps agreed upon by the participants to combat terrorism include: addressing it through education and knowledge, working together to bring out the correct Islamic concepts, and taking measures to bridge the gaps between the Muslim world and global community to ensure collective security and prosperity.

The forum understanding the importance of media decided to use this as supporting hand to eliminate terrorism by initiating useful communication and dialogue. They affirmed to work with the media by investing in digital media platforms to counter terrorist propaganda. It surely will help in destroying the foundations of terrorism and reducing its influence and appeal to young minds.

Moreover, it was also agreed upon by the participants that combating terrorism would only succeed if steps taken also include efforts to curtail terrorist financing by draining the sources of terrorist funding through a proper and efficient exchange of intelligence. The last but not the least action is to combat terrorism through military: by strengthening the military forces of the participant countries by enhancing their capabilities to ensure that terrorist organizations are weakened, dismantled, and eliminated.

The working mechanism has been announced, but a working plan has yet to be designed to implement this much needed and long-awaited initiative. The President of IMCT will ensure to follow up the strategies that will be required for adequate joint operation. The ministers decided to secure a Centre Headquarters for IMCTC in Riyadh, as it will meet the Coalition’s needs.

Indeed, this is an excellent initiative considering its goals in mind. But I feel that there is a lot to be done, as there is no defined roadmap that explains working of this joint force to discharge its duties. Nor is there any word said regarding the bylaws that will run it. Also, there is silence on the nature of legal charter that will allow other countries’ armed forces to operate on the ground and with what legal authority.

There are questions that need clear answers to avoid any sort of misunderstandings. For instance; will this force act like NATO forces or need some new military operational strategy/procedures? Why should Saudi Arabia take the economic burden to maintain this force? It should be a collective responsibility to share the expenditures by whole Muslim Ummah to give the feel of joint efforts of the entire Muslim community.

Nevertheless, I feel, perhaps, it should be named Islamic Peace Army (IPA). It can be placed under OIC with its headquarters in Riyadh. It will be possible only if Prince Mohammed bin Salman takes yet another step and get all the remaining Muslim countries in this newly proposed IAP counter-terrorist force. The world is witnessing with great interest that Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, like this initiative, has introduced many unprecedented reforms in his country including recent economic changes and acting against the powerful corrupt elite in the Kingdom.

Furthermore, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is the driving force behind ‘Vision 2030’: the kingdom’s long-term economic plan to wean itself off dependence on oil. Prince Muhammad is also known for reforming his country’s ineffective bureaucracy.

Moreover, he has successfully lobbied for regulations restricting the powers of the religious police. It is great to see an entertainment authority in Saudi Arabia that has hosted comedy shows, wrestling events, and monster truck rallies. The removal of the ban on female drivers in September 2017 is a step in the right directions. He has also chipped away with Saudi Arabia’s Wali system. These all reforms look great, and we hope his vision also becomes the guiding light for the rest of the Muslim world.

The assembly of all the head of Muslim counties in Saudi Arabia, May 2017 duly addressed by President Donald Trump had provided the Muslim countries yet another opportunity to interact and to come up with a comprehensive strategy to eradicate the sufferings of Muslim Ummah. This kind of interaction with western leaders should continue to clear misconceptions about Islam.

Let me highlight here that Arab spring brought number of adverse changes in Middle East and many Muslim countries suffered and its bad effects will continue for a long time. The present effort by Saudi Arabia will help in normalising the situation in these countries.

I also feel that the recent reforms introduced in Saudi Arabia will have a positive impact on the Middle East as it will bring a modern approach to governance as well as social and political structures of Arab states. The wave of modernisation will also prove helpful in deradicalising the youth. I hope that the newly formed force does not remain restricted to the Middle East but also play a constructive role in Afghanistan. Crown Prince Muhammad’s personal attention and initiatives for peace will benefit the war-torn country.

The biggest challenge for this newly formed Islamic Alliance is to defeat Daesh, which is likely to become a more lethal terrorist organization. Halting its growth should be the priority of this new coalition.

Pakistan will be more than happy with its anti-terrorism experience to work for peace in this region in close collaboration with energetic Mohammed Bin Salman. Let us hope this new force plays its role in peacekeeping in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries that are prone to the attacks of extremist and terrorist organisations.

These joint efforts of the Muslim world will help in reducing Islamophobia that rules supreme in the West because of toxic propaganda against Islam. Let us wish and pray for the success of this great initiative by Saudi Arabia and hope it will have a positive outcome for Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries.

The Article has been published by Daily “The Nation” dated December 03, 2017, link to the original article is: http://nation.com.pk/03-Dec-2017/muslim-ummah-counter-terrorism-force