No difference between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban: Both are armies of darkness, War on Terror, NewAgeIslam.com

War on Terror

No difference between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban: Both are armies of darkness

Culling the terrorists

By Farrukh Khan Pitafi

November 13, 2009

Perhaps the time has come for all rational moderates of the country to unite around the conviction that there is no difference between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani Taliban; if one is bad the other can never be good

The repeated terror attacks in the country bear testimony to the fact that the country’s anti terror policy is failing to deliver. There is no gainsaying that the popular support for the Taliban is waning, if not in the Pashtun areas then at least in the rest of the country. Meanwhile the Taliban are learning quickly from the tactics of other terror groups like al Qaeda and its umpteen other regional counterparts. Some may call their recent tactics desperate acts of a failing force but the fact remains that this army of darkness has uncountable levers to manipulate the war in a country given to countless ideational contradictions and perpetual insecurity.

With this, undoubtedly, the myth that there is in essence a difference between al Qaeda and the Taliban has come crashing down. If there was any difference between the Taliban’s medieval tribalism and al Qaeda’s fanatical globalism before 9/11, it is no more visible. But what should be done with the people who not only insist on distinguishing the two, but also protest at the Pakistani Taliban being called Taliban at all. Being the eternal proponents of conspiracy theories, these Platos believe that the elements wreaking havoc in the country in the name of Talibanisation are nothing but a ragtag army of foreign funded thugs introduced to weaken the nation’s moorings, whereas the real Taliban, the Afghan Taliban, is good. Ironically while these ideational pundits go to unnecessary pains to distinguish the two, they do not even support the operation against the Pakistani Taliban and are often found in either hunger strike camps or on television screens shedding tears for the affected.

http://newageislam.com/no-difference-between-afghan-and-pakistani-taliban--both-are-armies-of-darkness-/war-on-terror/d/2097

TV is trying to make the world a single image', Interview, NewAgeIslam.com

Interview

WHY I CRITICISE ISLAM?

TV is trying to make the world a single image'

5 Jan 2009, 0013 hrs IST

The idea of being someone who I could never be drew me into film-making. Experiencing life in different contexts provides one with a deeper understanding of life. It saves one from a narrow world view. Cinema is one thing that can change thoughts. We can reduce human pain somehow through cinema. The magic of cinema is something else.

You seem to be fascinated by Afghanistan?

‘Five in the Afternoon' was made in Afghanistan because that society needed someone to give an honest view about it. I chose Afghanistan for `Two-Legged Horse' because i was denied permission in Iran. `11 September' tried to present viewpoints of different people; but no Afghan director was represented. That nation was called terrorist but its views were not represented. I then decided to be the representative of Afghanistan in that film.

How do you see terrorism?

The term terrorist is a cliche. I call it violence. There is no difference between various forms of violence. Whether it is in the name of religion, political party, or for love, violence is the same. When we have different names for violence we are legitimising its existence. I associate groups like Taliban with ignorance, violence, and closing doors to others.

http://newageislam.com/why-i-criticise-islam?-/interview/d/1098