The ouster of Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi has once again plunged the country into turmoil. The deposed president, Muhammad Mursi, was mandated to rule the country in a democratic and popular way. He was supposed to fulfill the aspirations of the people and unite the nation. But he chose to serve his political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, instead of serving the masses.
Far from giving democracy a chance to live and thrive, Mursi followed the footsteps of the former dictators and tried to establish an autocratic rule. He failed to gauge public discontent and thus alienated himself from the masses of the people.
The army had always a stake in Egyptian politics. Against the backdrop of popular unrest and vulnerable position of the government, the army gave Mursi a 48-hour ultimatum and toppled him from power after he declined to resign. An interim government led by the chief justice Adly Mansour is now at the helm.
The outside world is observing the next course of events in Egypt with keen interest. Political forces in that country are sharply divided over the question of ouster of Mursi and military takeover. Anti-Mursi and pro-Mursi forces are still in the streets, violence continues and thus political uncertainty looms large over the horizon.
Naser Mullah
Riyadh
Menace of terrorism
Pakistan’s newly elected federal government has decided to hold an all-parties conference (APC) on July 12 to explore ways to eliminate the menace of terrorism, which has now gripped the whole country. This is not the first time that such a conference is going to discuss proposals to stem the tide of terror. The government seeks to bring all the political and religious parties on one page to chalk out a national security policy. In my opinion this conference is also going to meet the same fate as the earlier ones.
Earlier right-wing parties used to be blamed for putting up impractical demands and wish list to appease the Taleban to the extent that these APCs had become just waste of time and effort. However, this time both the government and right-wing parties are going to make it a joint failure. The government has indicated to draw the national security policy on Chinese and Malaysian models, which were outlined decades back to contain the localized ethnic conflicts. What security specialists have failed to comprehend that though ethnic conflicts could be reined in by development and creation of job opportunities for the marginalized sections of the society, but Pakistan’ problem is not of this nature; it’s not an ethnic conflict. We are facing a multi-dimensional terrorist threat. Our enemy is not single faced; it’s a multi-faced monster. There are a number of religious and sectarian terrorist organizations that are working under the banner of Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP). These groups may share a common extremist religious ideology, however, each group is working in line with its own vested interests. There is no way to bring them on one table and bring them into the main stream.
Pakistan can’t win over terrorism by holding APCs and summits. If the TTP is serious about talks, the government needs to put forward its own pre-conditions — the militants shall stop all terrorist activities, lay down their arms, agree to expel foreign terrorists and let Pakistani forces to control the country’s international borders. If they don’t agree, then they need to be responded with massive force as that’s the only language they understand.
Masood Khan
Jubail
Emergency rescue teams
During a recent visit to a mall, I found a small crowd gathered around a woman who was on her knees and looked really unwell. As time passed the number of onlookers increased gradually. Suddenly the emergency rescue team arrived on the scene at a swift pace. There was a big sigh of relief around. But to my utter surprise, due to cultural norms, we found the men-only rescue team giving verbal instructions to the husband accompanying the woman, who was in real agony. The oxygen mask was handed over to the husband and verbal instructions were being given by the team. It was like an infant getting a new toy. The husband had no clue as to what has to be done. He looked confused, embarrassed and to an extent weird.
The whole incidence gave a message loud and clear. It’s time to recruit women in the emergency rescue teams. Each life is precious, cultural barriers should not prevent us from providing timely help. After all rescue teams are there to save life.
Bhaskara Sujeet Kumar
Riyadh
Egypt on edge
