A Second Chance by Cyril Almeida: Very sharp and important op

A Second Chance

SOMETIMES big decisions turn on simple questions. In the aftermath of 9/11, the question was a simple one: did we get it? Did our generals get that 9/11 was an epochal, seismic shift, that the old way of doing business had to be chucked out, replaced by a new pragmatism to fit new realities?
The generals didn’t get it. They thought 9/11 was a blip, one that required temporary adjustments and deflections, for which they would be rewarded handsomely, before eventually going back to business as usual.
No thought was given to long-term changes or course corrections, which made sense for a state which rarely has anything by way of strategy, statecraft here being limited to haphazardly responding to crises.
Ten years on, Pakistan is struggling mightily with the consequences of misreading 9/11 and what it meant for this country and the security choices before it.
Which is why debating the minutiae of the present round of accusations and recriminations between Pakistan and the US matters little. Has the CIA been handed a bunch of Pakistani visas as a result of an explicit understanding that no unilateral American operations will take place on Pakistani soil or was it more of a mumbled half-promise accompanied by severe arm-twisting?
Has Ghulam Nabi Fai been outed as a warning that if Pakistan continues to hamper American efforts to get what it wants most — eliminating terrorists who may threaten the US homeland

Washington Post: Pakistani couple detained over false plane threat sues American Airlines, San Francisco police

By Associated Press, Published: July 8

SAN FRANCISCO — The son of a Pakistani official who was assassinated by an Islamic extremist has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines after he and his wife were escorted from a plane in handcuffs in response to a telephone hijacking threat that turned out to be a hoax.

Shahbaz Ali Taseer and his wife, Maheen Ghani Taseer, claim they were victims of racial profiling by the airline and police when they were taken off the New York-bound flight at San Francisco’s airport on Aug. 19, 2010.

(Tony Avelar, file/Associated Press) - FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2010 file photo, an Air Canada airplane takes off next to American Airlines Flight 24, that sits empty on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport after a an alleged phone threat. The son of a Pakistani official who was assassinated by an Islamic extremist sued American Airlines after he and his wife were escorted from a plane in handcuffs in response to a telephone hijacking threat that turned out to be a hoax. Shahbaz Ali Taseer and his wife, Maheen Ghani Taseer, claim they were victims of racial profiling by the airline and San Francisco police when they were taken off the New York bound flight.

“The only reason (police) went to them is because their names were Maheen Ghani Taseer and Shahbaz Ali Taseer,” the couple’s attorney Joel Siegal said Friday. “They were singled out and treated as the most vile terrorists.”

The suit alleged the newly married couple suffered extreme humiliation and embarrassment, harm to their reputations and a fear of travel. It sought unspecified damages.
The lawsuit, first filed in March in San Francisco Superior Court, was transferred to federal court on Tuesday.
The plane was diverted to a remote stretch of tarmac after authorities were notified of a telephone threat that it would be hijacked. The Taseers were the only passengers to be interrogated and held for hours, the lawsuit stated. The FBI later determined the threat was a hoax.
In a statement, American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the allegations in the lawsuit do not indicate anyone at the airline did anything wrong or support the claims made against the airline.
“Accordingly, we soon intend to move to dismiss the claims against American Airlines,” Smith said.
Police spokesmen and the City Attorney’s office declined to comment on pending litigation.
The couple was vacationing in the United States and heading to New York to catch a flight back to Pakistan. Siegal said they are currently in Pakistan.
Shahbaz Taseer is the son of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province who was assassinated by an Islamic extremist in January. Salman Taseer was fatally shot at a market in Islamabad by one of his own bodyguards, who later confessed to killing him because the politician wanted to change blasphemy laws that impose the death sentence for insulting Islam.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/pakistani-couple-detained-over-false-plane-threat-sues-american-airlines-san-francisco-police/2011/07/08/gIQAV04l3H_story.html

Would Yielding to Militants' Demands ever make things better in Pakistan??

Security situation in Pakistan had improved a little after the new elected government took charge. Though never fully in control, it was certainly better than the one in earlier days when daily bombings and attacks on selective installations had become a normal routine. The terror had gripped the whole country as no place seemed to have been inaccessible by the 'guardians' of Islam. But recent happenings definitely show that the outer make-up of deep issues had only temporarily kept it from resurfacing.

Attacking with missiles the groups of tribesman who are not supportive of militants, burning the state-owned resorts, abducting and killing security personnels, bombing towns after towns based on odd and disconnected reasoning, beheading people publicly charged by their 'sharia courts' as US spies, are not just barbaric actions by those who demean humanity in the name of God, but also symbolize mockery of state apparatus. Holding people hostage to their agendas and actions which repreent sheer disregard to community and state (e.g. continuous threats to video shop owners and barbers, and closing and turning state's girls schools into 'madressas') should have no tolerance at all. All this is being prolonged despite government negotiations. The peace deals with militants clearly are failing. Government should deal this serious issue with wisdom and strong determination on top-priority basis.

If the ideology of these self-righteous stubborn elements is such that it sees the state as unIslamic and vows to either make it "Islamic" (based on their version) or dismantle it otherwise, how can the state possibly make any "truce" and serve any purpose whatsoever? The simple logic of the situation has to be reiterated to people of Pakistan to gain a public consensus on the issue and weaken the support of the militants among a few misguided pockets of community. Also it needs to be realized that due to lack of information, there is a gross misconception, not only in international circles but also to large extent within the Pakistani community, that these militants are supported by tribal people across the board. The recent attack on pro-government tribesman by those who cant see peace deals forwarding should leave no doubts on the issue.

The situation, which already had been allowed to worsen to such shameful level, can not be afforded to go loose and as per the dictations of militants. The pompous 'writ of the state' need to be strengthened and public confidence reposed to give them a sense of safety and solace. Public at large also views these miscreants negatively. Many who still are confused about the rightfulness of militants need to know the full picture. Our religious leaders, who have always been more of a source of divisions, have to be poked to realize the gravity of the situation and condemn the ruthless means of the militants.