In Islamabad, Pakistan, no signs of war
evident as residents follow routines
By Scott Schonauer,
Stars and Stripes
Marni McEntee / Stars and Stripes
Despite the United States' talk of using Pakistan to support a U.S. military campaign
against terrorism, life in Islamabad is proceeding as normal for most people. In this
Sunday market, vendors sell fruit, vegetables, cloth and meat. |
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Islamic fundamentalists have vowed a "holy war" if
America attacks neighboring Afghanistan, but on a Sunday afternoon most people preferred
to shop in Pakistan’s capital.
A few hundred yards away from where police braced for mobs of demonstrators, people
loaded baskets with vegetables, fruit and second-hand clothes at an outdoor bazaar —
just like they do every weekend.
A mile down the road, men in crisp, white uniforms played a game of cricket. Barefoot
children played in the street.
Despite reports of mounting tension, life in this city of 1.4 million has moved along
almost routinely. At least, it appears that way on the surface.
But as one U.S. diplomat said, "things here can change on a dime."
That is the underlying fear among the people on the street, from the doctors to
shopkeepers. The concern is that any U.S. military action against Afghanistan could tear
their country apart, pitting hard-line Islamic extremists against liberal-thinking
pro-American, pro-Pakistani government residents.
Pakistan’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has offered "full support" to
the United States if there is a strike, but he and his aides have not given any details on
what that support entails.
If U.S. troops use Pakistani bases in any operation, devout Muslims predict the
soldiers will be attacked, not by Afghan troops, but by extremists who have organized
small but passionate rallies against the United States in Pakistan.
In markets where shopkeepers sell sugarcane juice and severed goat heads —
considered a delicious meal if "cooked properly" — most people condemned
the Sept. 11 attacks.
Scott Schonauer / S&S
Police officer Raza Muhammed waits Sunday for an anti-America protest that never took
place. Protest organizers canceled the demonstration because of lack of participation. |
But to what extent should Pakistan help the United States?
Opinions are as varied as the sequined, chrome-polished Bedford buses that ferry people
around town.
Boisterous, anti-America protests have congregated in big cities with demonstrators
carrying posters of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the attacks. But the gatherings
have been smaller than expected. Organizers canceled a planned Sunday protest in Islamabad
reportedly because they didn’t have enough people.
Most Pakistanis blame the demonstrations on Islamic fanatics that do not represent the
country's 140 million people.
"You’re going to find opponents in any country," Najam Noor, 30, said.
"I think they should ‘chill out,’ as Americans say."
In a shopping center downtown frequented by the city’s wealthiest residents,
doctors and businessmen branded the fundamentalists as a small minority bent on spreading
hate and splitting the country.
"I think it is propaganda people are spreading about this being a war against
Islam," Dr. Moosa Hassan, 28, said. "It’s only propaganda."
But he added, "If you attack Afghanistan to kill bin Laden, that’s not fair.
There are also hundreds of innocent people that could be killed, too."
Abdul Karim, an Afghan businessman who lives in Pakistan, said many Muslims are in a
quandary. They do not like the Taliban or admire bin Laden, but any U.S. attack could
unintentionally hurt or kill relatives and friends, people who have suffered under
poverty, repressive rulers and more than two decades of war.
"I think bin Laden should be hanged," Karim said. "But the Taliban and
Afghanistan, if I say Americans should attack them, I am calling on them to kill one of my
brothers. How can I answer that question?"
Noor, who lived in the United States for 15 years before returning to Pakistan to open
a hotel, said the government has no choice but to support America. But he fears that
radicals could turn on him and others.
"That’s what we’re afraid of," he said. "It could create a
civil war."
That is exactly what a group of shopkeepers in a market frequented by middle- to
lower-class residents suggests. They chastised U.S. policy in the Middle East and warned
that the U.S. military should keep out.
"We will fight against the troops and scold the Muslims who support them,"
Abdul Harfeez, 25, said.
Zahid Igbal, 25, a rice and flour salesman, accused America of not doing enough to
solve problems in the Middle East — in Pakistan and other areas.
"They are now crying," Igbal said. "America is sad about its police and
firefighters. But we are sad about Kashmir and Palestine."
Others said that if the U.S. military arrives, they will never leave — like in
Bosnia, Kosovo and Kuwait.
"We don’t want to be used by the Americans," shopkeeper Munir Ahmad, 35,
said.
While some Muslims are highly critical of American ideals and values, Western culture
remains prevalent. Most enjoy Coca-Cola, Hollywood movies and fast food. Next to a banner
denouncing both the U.S. and Britain was another banner advertising the blockbuster flick
"Tomb Raider."
Musharraf, a Pakistani general who took control of the government in a 1999 bloodless
coup, has put the number of Taliban and bin Laden supporters at 15 percent of the
country’s population. However, a recent poll found that more than 60 percent are
against supporting the United States.
A chief concern among some government officials is whether mainstream Pakistanis will
join the small minority in the streets if and when U.S. troops and fighters strike.
Police officer Raza Muhammed, however, is not worried. He is confident that the more
than 20,000 police and security officers in the city can stop demonstrations from turning
violent — even if that means using violence. His supervisors have the authority to
use lethal force.
Police shot and killed three people at an anti-U.S. rally in the southern port city of
Karachi on Friday.
Sitting on his bike waiting for the protest that never came, Muhammed said it is the
job of police to protect property — not to stop the demonstrations. But if a mob gets
out of hand, police could receive another order to shoot.
"If some people come and become violent, we can handle that," he said.
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