The Mood in Peshawar

Peshawar, Pakistan: The war in Iraq looks decidedly different from this northwest corner of Pakistan than it looked from Toledo, Ohio. One notices the difference in attitudes, perceptions and most definitely in coverage of the war as one leaves the US and flies east towards Europe and Asia.

In America it is referred to as the allied forces fighting against the evil regime of Saddam Hussein. In Europe it is the American unilateral war (with Great Britain playing a minor supportive role) against Iraq. Mr. Tony Blair is referred to as an American stooge who has abandoned his European identity to appease George Bush.

Here in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Arab/ Muslim world, it is increasingly being referred to as an American Crusade against Iraqi people and by extension, albeit a stretchy one, a war against Muslims. When the word Crusade is used with abandon, the memories of Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin flood back to provide the historic context. To equate Saddam Hussein with Saladin, the 12th century Arab/Kurdish ruler of Egypt is to push the analogy to the extreme but then objectivity and truth are never part of an armed conflict.

An undercurrent of anti-American feelings has always been part of the political landscape in this country. In the past however such sentiments were always under the surface and were espoused by a small group of left wing radicals and most extreme religious elements. The majority of people considered America a valued and trusted friend in a bilateral relationship where Pakistan ever since the shaky and uncertain days of its independence in 1947 aligned itself with the American interests in this part of the world in exchange for economic and military aid. But those were the heady days of the fifties, the sixties and the seventies.

The past twenty years have seen a noticeable change in the attitude and outlook of Pakistanis in general and those living along the turbulent western frontier of the country in particular. These border areas took the brunt after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 and the ensuing civil war in Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawl in 1989. It was here in these areas that the radical Islamic Taliban movement germinated and during its ill-fated rule of Afghanistan in the nineties provided safe haven for Al Qaeda. When America attacked Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11the radical mullahs sent thousands of volunteers across the border to fight on the side of the Taliban. For them the memories of their humiliation and debacles are sharp and the reasons rather obvious. George Bush is the later day Richard the Lion Heart and Saddam Hussein, despite misgivings about his religious credentials, is reincarnated Saladin.

The seeping but still under the surface resentment against the United States that I had felt during my previous visits has now bubbled over at the surface and is pervasive across all segments of the society. This anti- American trend was responsible for the first ever victory of a coalition of religious parties in the last elections six months ago. They now rule in two provinces of Pakistan that border with Afghanistan and have a good presence in the Parliament as well.

While they have helped fan anti-American sentiments and some of the politicians are openly drawing parallels with the Crusades, they are aware of the effects of such rhetoric on the sizable Christian minority in this country. When battle lines are drawn across a religious divide some miscreants do take advantage to retaliate against their own fellow citizens. The Christians in this country have also been in the forefront of protests against the war.

President Musharraf and his government is treading a fine line between the overwhelming public opinion against the war (and against America) on one hand and facilitating American operations in the tribal belt along the frontier to hunt for Al Qaeda operatives on the other. So far President Musharraf has stood by America even though overwhelming sentiments of his countrymen are against it. A protracted war in Iraq could make it more difficult to continue this balancing act.

The labyrinthine streets of this ancient city appear to be eons away from the precision smart bombs and laser guided missiles but on emotional level the people in this frontier town, as elsewhere in Pakistan, are very much part of the battle of Baghdad. And there is no doubt which side they are rooting for.

(Dr. S. Amjad Hussain is an op-ed page columnist for the daily Toledo Blade and weekly Pakistan Link. He wrote this piece during his current visit to Peshawar. E:Mail aghaji@buckeye-express.com)