by Faisal Shakeel



A friend of mine calls me up from Lahore and expresses concern about how her father’s business is failing to generate profit. The news on the closure of fifty thousand power looms in Faisalabad flashes across my mind as I nudge her for more.

She says her father worries and wonders if she could get a job in case his business grinds to a halt. Her voice grew heavy as she complained about the government’s failure to produce enough electricity for industry, drying rivers and above all the fallout of the battle in South Waziristan.

Her concern is shared by all and sundry in Pakistan still being compelled to do more in the fight against terror. The moneyed class has already invested abroad, fearing things might not change for good anytime soon.
With the flight of capital and the army's operation still unfinished in Swat and fresh one in progress in South Waziristan, the economy is sure to continue showing negative trend. The sinking stock market and the dying foreign investment shows further chaos is in the making.

Upset over the state of affairs, people have started asking questions about the need for the operation in Waziristan more frequently than before. Talks are on whether it’s Pakistan’s war or a consequence of a US invasion in Afghanistan.

The anti-US sentiments in places like Peshawar and Lahore, frequent victims of terrors attacks, are running high. The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's 'straight talk' during her three-day visit has not made any difference. Her take-it-or-leave-it reply to a query on conditions attached to the US aid bill makes it abundantly clear that the US sees Pakistan’s woes through its own eyes alone. The US policymakers need to understand sentiments before setting out to help Pakistanis or Afghans.