By Jamal Khashoggi

Sunday, 13 January 2013

Saudi Arabia feels safe, or at least it should, when its wings are all right. “Saudi security” is based on an old strategy that withstood the change of times, leaders and the world around it; a strategy that always needs a strong Pakistan in the east, and a powerful and stable Egypt in the west, while maintaining good and distinctive relations with both countries so that it could safely advance with its foreign relations.

This explains the positive attitude of the Saudi government towards Egypt, as it ignored the campaigns of intimidation and distrust led by some authors and officials who are worried and affected by the “isolation” circumstances in the region, and who were allergic to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in the largest Arab country. The officials in Saudi Arabia ignored all this, and they were rather keen to confirm and prove their desire of good relations with Egypt. Saudi Arabia obviously puts Egypt first and then comes whoever governs it, while the others, as soon as they have seen the Brotherhood in power, their considerations and decisions were disordered, even at the expense of their own or regional interests.

Pakistan in need

Egypt is fine and recovering, so our western wing is doing well. But what about Pakistan?

There are many reasons for distress, but Saudi Arabia can help. Pakistan does not need financial support because all the money that will be sent now will be in vain. For example, Pakistan has drained the United States as they have spent for years more than two billion dollars annually, yet nothing has changed. Pakistan is still tormented by the violence, poverty, corruption and persistent failure. Comparing Pakistan to India is enough to realize the deteriorating status-quo in Pakistan. The problem is that, even if we can see the light at the end of the Egyptian tunnel, we can only perceive a flame ball in the Pakistani tunnel caused by the latest absurd suicide bombing there.

Religious scholars in Pakistan are unable to do anything; those who criticize Taliban get killed, and many of them are opportunistic and use religion for political reasons, keeping silent about Taliban’s crimes.
Jamal KhashoggiThe problem in the Pakistani mind (I am sorry… I know that my friends in Pakistan will not like what I will say) is that they believe the conspiracy theories in all their forms and colors. For instance, Pakistanis do not use salt in their food because they believe that the iodine is a chemical solution that comes within a western Indian plot that will lead them to infertility. This is neither a joke nor an exaggeration; it is actually a health disaster to which the Pakistani Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization are working to find a solution for. It all began with a rumor two decades ago, and the consecutive governments were not able to refute it, since the Pakistanis do not usually trust the officials; the clerics have even promoted the rumor and added that it is a part of the endless conspiracy and war that they do not want to terminate. The clerics did not invalidate this issue as they should have done and they did not even warn their citizens of the damage of the iodine-free food.

READ MORE HERE:

http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2013/01/13/260124.html

“Religious scholars in Pakistan are unable to do anything; those who criticize Taliban get killed, and many of them are opportunistic and use religion for political reasons, keeping silent about Taliban’s crimes. ”
Jamal Khashoggi