A meeting in San Antonio, dubbed the Texas Jirga by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) United States, attempted to portray itself as a gathering for peace and justice. As a matter of fact, it has become a platform of anti-Pakistan rhetoric that is mostly based on foreign propaganda. Although it claimed to represent marginalized voices, the event disregarded the decades long struggle and sacrifices made by Pakistan in peace and the stability of the region.
Sacrifices Speak Louder Than Propaganda
During the last two decades, Pakistan has had to bear one of the greatest responsibilities in the war against terror.
Over 94,000 citizens and soldiers have sacrificed their lives fighting extremism, a sacrifice unmatched in the region and proof of Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to peace.
These were not abstract figures, but teachers, shopkeepers, soldiers, and students who made the sacrifice of their lives to make their mother country and the world a better place. To ignore these sacrifices and blame Pakistan of being a complicit country is not only unjust, but also an act of forgetting national pain and endurance as a nation.
Peace Maker through Determination
When the militancy had extended along the northwestern belt, Pakistan did not just turn a blind ear. It initiated massive military campaigns, Zarb-e-Azb, Rah-e-Raast and many more that restored control over areas where violent extremists had transformed such places as Swat and Waziristan. Such campaigns brought sanity, schools were reopened, and local economies were rejuvenated. Ironically, it is the very Pashtun communities which Pakistan now boasts of engaging in the fight of PTM, which was the same group of people who had been released by the militants under the umbrella of the Pakistan Army.
PTM’s Politics of Division
The PTM tends to present itself as the sole protector of Pashtun rights, but its discourse is increasingly opposing Pashtuns to the state, rather than empowering it. The fact is that the national identity of Pakistan is tightly connected with Pashtuns. Pashtuns have contributed to the history of Pakistan in their various forms, including political leaders, generals, poets, and athletes. Their power and pride are proudly shown on the national level, not in sorrows.
Not Violating Them, Defending Borders
The fact that the Texas Jirga described the security measures of Pakistan as an action of aggression is misleading. When the Afghan soil is invaded by militants to go and attack, the reaction of Pakistan is self-defense and not aggression. Each sovereign state has a right to guard its people, and Pakistan is not an exception.
Protecting borders and fighting terrorism is not oppression, it is Pakistan’s constitutional and moral duty to defend its citizens from external threats.
Freedom of Speech Is Welcome, Disinformation is Not
The policy is subject to criticism and the lively media, the judiciary and parliament in Pakistan constantly hold the powerful accountable. What Pakistan cannot buy is fake news in the pretext of activism, particularly in support of the overseas interests of undermining its cohesion. The PTM and its foreign branches should know how to distinguish between constructive opposition and destructive perversion.
Democracy in Practice rather than Theory
As opposed to the caricature that is painted at the Texas Jirga, the institutions in Pakistan are showing a different picture. Executive decisions are regularly tested by the courts, journalists probe the state without restrictions, and the citizens rally politically and socially on all imaginable issues. These are not repression signs, they are evidence of a working democracy.
Moreover, Pakistan is actively involved in the cause of regional peace, and the country has shown its intentions through actions and not only through words. As Afghanistan struggles with instability, millions of Afghan refugees still live in Pakistan, frequently at a very high economic and social price. It has always supported dialogue and reconciliation as opposed to confrontation. The story projected by the Texas Jirga tries to reverse the fact and misrepresents Pakistan.
Standing Up to Speak the Truth
Propaganda can change the headlines but cannot change reality. The history of sacrifice, rebuilding, and unity in Pakistan is the sharp contrast to the divisive message of events such as the Texas Jirga. It is time that the world came to appreciate Pakistan the way it really is a country that has shed blood to secure peace, a country that has struggled to achieve its stability, and a country that only wants a future not characterized by foreign interests, but rather a strong and resilient nation able to sustain itself through its own people.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.
