Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in Pakistan

The Toronto Star
May 12, 2009

Pakistan's worsening humanitarian crisis has drawn comparisons to the tragic states of Darfur and Congo. The country's military offensive asgainst the Taliban continued today, as Pakistani troops landed at a Taliban mountain stronghold, while others captured four suicide bombers today who were allegedly planning an attack on Islamabad. A member of the Taliban said that the military did not tell the truth yesterday when it claimed that 700 militants had been killed over the past two weeks. Muslim Khan, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman, said that the Pakistani military "simply want to impress the Obama administration, because that's where they get their money from". The Pakistan military told reporters today that security forces have landed troops at the Talbian stronghold in Peochar, a 'purported' base of operations for the main Taliban leader in Pakistan, Moulvi Fazlullah. During a search operation today, four suicide bombers were arrested with suicide jackets. These men are members of an outlawed outfit. High military officials have confirmed this arrest, telling the media that "they had planned to attack key points of the Islamabad twin cities". For several weeks after the militants took advantage of a peace deal in the northwest region of Swat valley, Pakistan has been at war with the Taliban. This peace deal encompassed the communities close to Islamad, the capital of this nuclear-armed country.

The recent situation in Pakistan has truly become a humanitarian crisis. I agree that this situation does indeed mirror that in Congo and Darfur. In these African states, the world has witnessed genocide and uncontrollable bloodshed as a result of racial and religious conflicts. In the Swat valley, we are witnessing yet another potential battle between religious rebel forces and a government that seeks to align itself with America. A UN official Killian Kleinschmidt also agrees said that the recent situation here in Pakistan is much like that in Darfur and Congo, according to the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan12-2009may12,0,3064262.story). As many as 360,000 people have fled the Swat Valley and areas around the valley during the last four days, in addition to the 500,000 who have been living in camps since last fall. The world must act now through UN peacekeeping forces and the delivery of prompt humanitarian aid to prevent the kind of bloodshed we have seen in Africa. We must learn from the tragedies not only of Congo and Darfur, but the more historic tragedies in Nigeria, Rwanda and the greatest human tragedy of the Holocaust. It is situations like these that underscore the need for us all to embrace multiculturalism and religious diversity.