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Letter To Editor
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Letter to Editor
My Dear Editor,
Assalam-o-Alaikum
I would like to draw your attention toward a Pajhwok Afghan news item published in your esteemed daily entitled“Tribal Hot Under the Collar Over Musharraf’s Statement” of January 06, 2008.
The news item is a misrepresentation aimed at twisting the statement of the President of Pakistan in a negative and tendentious manner. The news agency has made references to so-called analysts and assertions of a tribal elder from Pakistan, who has assumed the role of spokesperson for the tribal people.
The statement was made in the context of Pakistan on an issue totally relating to Pakistan and which referred to the social and cultural aspects of Pakistani society. Pajhwok Afghan News has tried to stretch President’s statement out of context in a bid to sensationalize the issue.
A news agency may report events or analyze them but should not pass judgments.
Sincerely,
(Muhammad Naeem)
Counsellor (Press)
EMBASSY OF PAKISTAN KABUL
Letter to Editor
Saudi Support, a Strong Backing for Afghanistan’s Stability and Peace
Dear Editor-in-Chief,
On Monday, January 14, 2008, I perused an article in the daily Outlook Afghanistan’s opinion page; this article shocked me and took me to deep regret and disappointment on why our writers and thinkers are not mentally mature enough to analyze issues that are beneficial and useful for the unity and cohesion of Muslim World.
Why should we give coverage to bloody statements of Osama Bin Laden, won’t this encourage him more? It is totally baseless to analyze Osama Bin Laden’s words because he has dyed his tongue with bloods of innocent Muslims and human beings from around the world. The article with heading “Bin Laden: Saudi Arabia is the Main Enemy of Islamists” explains a message released by the leader of world’s most dangerous slayer group, the Al-Qaeda terror network
. Of course Bin Laden is disappointed now as he is condemned and chased by all countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah (Custodian of two Holy Mosques) has exerted unprecedented pressure and force to fight terrorism around the world and in particular, to clean the Muslim world of the terror menace. Since May 12, 2003, Saudi Arabia has faced several serious terrorist attacks, targeting primarily Western expatriates and also Saudi security forces.
The attacks have included car and truck bombings as well as raids by gunmen against civilians. Several groups have been linked to the attacks, including the Saudi branches of Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, with the common motivation being resentment of the perceived pro-Western stance of King Abdullah (Custodian of two Holy Mosques) and royal family, and their encouragement of Westerners residing in Saudi Arabia. The militants believe that Prophet Muhammad commanded that non-Muslims should be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula. The militants are especially outraged at the presence of the U.S. military in Saudi Arabia, which they see as sanctioned by the royal family.
The response of King Abdullah's administration to the insurgency has been a series of crackdowns including raids by security forces, arrests, torture and public beheading of terror elements.
King Abdullah has vowed to fight terrorist ideologies within the country. On the second anniversary of the September 11 attack on the United States, King Abdullah, the then-prince, wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, which ended with: "God Almighty, in His wisdom, tests the faithful by allowing such calamities to happen. But He, in His mercy, also provides us with the will and determination, generated by faith, to enable us to transform such tragedies into great achievements, and crises that seem debilitating are transformed into opportunities for the advancement of humanity
I only hope that, with your cooperation and leadership, a new world will emerge out of the rubble of the World Trade Center: a world that is blessed by the virtues of freedom, peace, prosperity and harmony." Moreover, In the year 2003, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland Prince Turki Al-Faisal reiterated Saudi Arabia’s rejection of terrorism and its pledge to continue to fight it, stressing that terrorism poses the greatest threat to global peace and stability and repudiated charges that the Kingdom supports or finances it.
Saudi Arabia, he said, had been fighting terrorism even before September 11, and has put into effect a great many laws to eradicate its sources. He went on to call for a united international effort in this respect. The center of the Muslim world, as the birthplace of Islam and home to its two holiest cities, Saudi Arabia plays an unparalleled religious role for the world’s Muslims
The largest economy in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s 2005 GDP was $308 billion, representing 24% of total GDP of the Middle East / North Africa (MENA) region (including Israel).
This represents 32% of the Arab world’s GDP. 2006 estimates show the economy will come in at approximately $385 billion. The largest stock market in the region: At its peak during February 2006, Saudi Arabia’s market capitalization reached over $800 billion. Despite a massive correction, which shed more than $300 billion, it still represents approximately 50% of region’s market capitalization.
The world’s leading petroleum power: Saudi Arabia has the largest oil production capacity, the largest oil spare capacity, and is the largest oil exporter and holder of the largest oil reserves in the world. The Kingdom has 25% of the world’s proven reserves and a production capacity of 11.3 mb/d (43.5% of total MENA region production capacity)
. Saudi Arabia holds 35.5% of the proven reserves in the MENA region. Central to regional security, the Kingdom has one of the most modern military and internal security apparatuses in the Gulf. The most influential member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia continues to play a central role in the decisions of OPEC due to its immense reserves and influence over other member states, especially the Gulf countries.
I believe with all these spiritual and material resources, King Abdullah (Custodian of two Holy Mosques) has spiritual competence to lead the Muslim world towards a better future and destiny. Saudi Arabia’s role has been highly constructive not only for Afghanistan and the Afghan people but the whole of Muslim world. As the center of attention for world’s Muslims, Saudi spiritual and material support has been a strong backing for Afghanistan’s stability and peace. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stood wholeheartedly by the brotherly Afghani people during their heroic struggle to achieve independence.
This struggle accorded Afghanistan a special status in the hearts of the supporters of the rights of people everywhere to freedom and independence, until God Almighty made possible the victory and Afghanistan regained its independence and freedom.
On September 2001 Saudi government published a press release in which it announced its partnership with the international community to fight and eradicate terrorism from Afghanistan.
“It is to be regretted that the government of the Taliban made use of Afghanistan's special status, not to build up brotherly relations or set up high Islamic values, but to make its land a center to attract and train a number of misguided people of all nationalities, and in particular, from among the citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in order to carry out criminal acts that are against every tenet of Shariah and faith: moreover, Taliban has continued to refuse to hand those criminals over to justice.
The Taliban government, after all that has happened and is still happening, continues to use its lands to harbor, arm, and encourage those criminals to go on with their terrorist operations, terrorizing innocent people and spreading fear and destruction throughout the world, causing harm to Islam and besmirching the name of Muslims everywhere.”
Sincerely,
Mohammad Hussain
Dasht-e Barchi, Kabul
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