All of a sudden it became one of the most talked about countries in the world because the prime suspect Osama Bin Ladin is residing in the neighboring Afghanistan where the ruling Taliban Militia refuse to hand him over without proof.
Pakistan had to make a quick decision to side with the world, as the horrendous act was so barbaric that no sane person could do anything else but condemn it. As a Pakistani, the daily change of events, the expected retaliatory strike by the United States and rest of the world on Afghanistan, the tension and difficult time faced by Muslims (and Sikhs) living in the US and other European countries has had a very profound impact on me!
I feel uneasy if I see people gathered together in the city, especially if they are Afghans, considering that so many Afghan nationalists are now residing in Karachi and that they are against Pakistan's decision to side with the US in this war against Terror!
The economic situation in my country is passing through a different period and I feel the present episode has brought even more pressure on the economy. I see the empty shopping centers and not so full cinemas and very thin crowds outside popular restaurants and it makes me simply "sad".
I feel for many countrymen of mine, including my relatives who are residing in the Western countries. I have heard that they are really scared and in a state of alarm and try to avoid leaving their homes. They are scared for their jobs and for their children. It seems that the animosity and racism that was heavily curtailed and contained in the hearts of many western people, tends to show itself in more than one area. Now no one feels safe anymore, everyone is threatened and so the peace of all has somehow been snatched away from them.
Also this will cause problems to all the students who were in the process of going abroad to study, since there has been a delay in issuing visa and the difficulties that are in their path when they reach their destination.
Another aspect that really worries me is the behavior of our not so generous neighbor India, who has made every use of this delicate moment in our country's history to exploit it, for its own benefit. So much so that now seeing that the world is focused elsewhere, they are talking of a war.
In the end I would pray to God that this episode ends peacefully and as quickly as possible. So that we can get on with our lives and we can see a glimpse of hope somewhere. But my prayer seems a bit too late!! Now the West has declared War on Afghanistan and it is going to be a sad saga and we are going to witness a sad chain of events that will unfold before our eyes, in the days to come. May God protect us and all the innocent Amin!!!!
« return.