Kamlesh Singh: Pakistan’s military and spy agencies seem to have less on Cynthia Ritchie than she has on them // Khaled Ahmed: Madrasas enjoy impunity in Pakistan’s regions where writ of the state is thin
"She absolutely
had his ear, it was terrible!” ~ General Yakub Khan,
former Pakistan foreign minister, writing about Joanne Herring and Gen
Zia-ul-Haq
Joanne Herring was an
American woman who came over to help Pakistan and became so close to the powers
that be that she influenced policy, jihad and Pakistan’s internal politics. She
is credited with introducing Charlie Wilson to Pakistani dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq
and thus began CIA’s “Largest Covert Operation in History”. Joanne Herring had
no problem with the execution of the elected leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by the
military regime led by Gen Zia. She endorsed it. She was from Texas. That was
the 1970s.
Nearly a half century
later, Bhutto’s legacy faces ruin and the charge is led by another white woman
from Texas who absolutely has the establishment’s ear. Unlike Joanne, she knows
a lot about Pakistan’s grassroots truths and surreal realities. While Joanne
had Gen Zia’s ears, she has everyone eating out of her hands. Politicians
of myriad hues and power’s who’s whos. Amateur filmmaker,
communications consultant, NGO worker, blogger, vlogger, Cynthia Dawn Ritchie is the new Joanne Herring, if not Mata Hari, as some
Pakistanis call her. A startup consultant yesterday and a strategic adviser
tomorrow, her wings span wide. She has access to corridors that are shut not
only to the average Pakistani but even the rich and famous.... https://www.dailyo.in/politics/cynthia-d-ritchie-pakistan-rehman-malik-rape/story/1/33069.html
The CIA's Intervention in Afghanistan Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, January 1998
Khaled Ahmed: Madrasas enjoy impunity in Pakistan’s regions where writ of the state is thin
A secular general is difficult to find in Pakistan because most of them, if not all, have a deep ideological commitment. Kathy Gannon of the Associated Press reported from Pakpattan in Punjab (Pakistan) in April: “An investigation by The Associated Press found dozens of police reports, known here as first information reports, alleging sexual harassment, rape and physical abuse by Islamic clerics teaching in madrasas or religious schools throughout Pakistan, where many of the country’s poorest study. The AP also documented cases of abuse through interviews with law enforcement officials, abuse victims and their parents.”
Madrasas are powerful
in Pakistan for several reasons. They have provided fodder for the jihad going
on for decades in neighbouring Afghanistan, some led by warriors who actually
took part in the Islamic war ordained by the state and approved by the world
when it was fighting the Soviet invasion in 1979. They burgeoned in regions
where the writ of the state was traditionally thin like the tribal areas,
Balochistan and south Punjab and gradually spread their power to the big
cities. Because of Arab funding, they linked up with the Arab warriors fighting
the Soviet Union and easily embraced Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
The state shrivelled
internally as it fought the international war. The power of the madrasa arose from
the countryside and invaded the big cities. Lahore’s sleepy old seminaries from
the pre-Partition days were soon eclipsed by the glamour of the new Arab-funded
ones headed by warrior-kings, the city administration prostrating itself before
them. Not long ago, Lashkar-e-Tayba leader Hafiz Saeed - today facing trial for
terror under pressure from the international Forward Action Task Force (FATF)
headed by China - had set up his courts to enforce Islamic punishments
that the state of Pakistan was not willing to carry out. Al Qaeda and its
associates had patronised the infamous Red Mosque in Islamabad, which President
(General) Musharraf was forced to attack with commandos because China had
complained about its shady anti-China activities.
More articles by Khaled Ahmed
The CIA's Intervention in Afghanistan Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski