Of course terrorist don’t celebrate mothers day because “others” have no mothers. Where is the mother of Faisal Shazhad? Where is the mother of his children? We will never see or hear from them. They must be kept invisible less we get the impression that he may actually be a human being, birthed by a female of our very own species.

Likewise the American media will never show the images of Aafia Siddiqui’s mother crying as she recalls the last day she saw her daughter. They will never show the images of the children who were deprived of their mother for seven long years. And, we will never be allowed to hear from the mother herself, to explain why she could not recognize her own son.

Motherhood is indeed problematic for the War on Terror. Aafia Siddiqui was completely stripped of her motherhood during her early depiction as Al Qaeda’s number three. When news finally begin to emerge not only of her disappearance but that of her three small children she was suddenly recast from the evil scientist to “terror mom” whose job now was to “have lots of babies” and “raise lots of little jihadis”.

I have no doubt that many would argue; what about the terrorists attempts to take innocent lives depriving our mothers of their children and our children of their mothers? But all the more reason to hear from the mothers of alleged terrorists. Perhaps they can spare us the endless speculation on how and why their kids became terrorists. After all, they raised them?

It’s not just the mother’s of alleged terrorists who disappear, but all the mothers who are victims of the War on Terror often described as Wars of terror. Never in the American media does one see or hear the mothers of children killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Never does one see or hear mothers of any of the U.S. soldiers killed or wounded. The only American mother who tries with monumental will to overcome this silencing, Cindy Sheehan, is marginalized by the mainstream media, as a bereft nut.

And when news of children being hurt or killed does inadvertently makes it’s way to the American media it is again blamed on the cold-hearted terrorists for “using their children as human shields”. In fact U.S. soldiers were shown on a recently leaked video indiscriminately firing on a van filled with unarmed civilians including several children. When the soldiers who were shooting realized that the children had been hit they laughed about it and said “well its their fault for bringing their kids into a battle”.

But this Mother’s Day, 9 years into the War on Terror, is the day to remember all those mothers who have been disappeared. It is also the time to demand to know the whereabouts of the latest mother to disappear the mother of Faisal Shazad’s two children, Huma Mian. Given the allegations of both the ISI as well as CIA’s involvement in the abduction of Aafia Siddiqui and her children; given the U.S. DOD’s own internal reports admitting its willingness to use family members including children in the interrogation of terror suspects; it is urgent that the public, Human Rights Watch, The Red Cross, and Amnesty International verify that Huma Mian and her children are safe and protected.

Motherhood is more than just problematic for the War on terror, it is fundamentally irreconcilable with it. You cannot celebrate mothers day if you tolerate war. Motherhood is about giving life, and war is about taking life.

PIA issued a statement today confirming: “TSA has notified PIA of enhanced screening of Pakistani passport holders traveling from USA. The baggage of such passengers would go through CTX Machines besides selected search of passengers.”

“If a Pakistani passport is produced, the passenger, irrespective of age and gender will have to undergo selected screening,” TSA has informed Pakistan International Airlines.

US Special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke last month told President of Pakistan Asif Zardari that the Obama administration was reviewing enhanced screening for Pakistanis traveling to the United States.

Spokesperson for President Zardari had said that Ambassador Holbrooke had discussed screening of Pakistani citizens at US Airports and assured him that it was under-review.

After meeting Pakistani President last month in Lahore Ambassador Holbrooke had told local media: “I have talked to the head of the US Homeland Security and she has assured me that she is personally reviewing this process.”

Addressing a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad last month, Richard Holbrooke had said the Homeland Security’s enhanced security screening at the US airports did not discriminate “ against Pakistanis. Pakistan is not being singled out.”

However, the notification sent to PIA from the offices of Transport Security Administration (TSA) at JFK Airport, New York sounds like Pakistanis are being profiled.

Statement issued by PIA says: “passengers are required to show a US federal or State issued photo ID that contains name, date of birth, gender, expiration date of ID and a tamper resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the check point and onto their flight. If a Pakistani passport is produced, the passenger, irrespective of age and gender will have to undergo selected screening.”

Due to the enhanced screening Pakistani passengers are being asked to arrive at the airport at least five hours prior to departure time.

Last month Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had told his country’s partliament that the new security measures introduced by the US government for screening Pakistani nationals was “discriminatory,” and had asked the US administration to reverse it’s policy.

However, now that the enhanced security measures are in place, rhetoric of Pakistani leadership seems to have dried-up.

A Pakistani village that tried to resist Taliban infiltration was struck with grief in an apparent revenge suicide bombing at an outdoor volleyball game. The village lies in Lakki Marwat district near South Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal region where the army has battled the Pakistani Taliban since October.

“Government of Pakistan is under tremendous pressure. They have to take the war of terror to wherever insurgents are hiding,” said a source privy to Islamabad’s decision.

The American media has been reporting that Pakistan is not willing to take the fight to North Waziristan insinuating that there is a divergence of interests. Quoting American officials, LA Times and AP reported last week that the Obama administration is frustrated with Pakistan military’s strategy of going after Taliban in only selective areas.

Americans wanted the Pakistan army to expand operations into North Waziristan to dismantle the Haqqani network. The Pakistan military was gearing up to drive militants from the surrounding tribal regions of Kurram, Orakzai and Khyber – areas that Taliban are using to assemble and re-launch.

Pakistan has been reluctant to open multiple fronts because of the lack of manpower and equipment. Approximately 30,000 soldiers were engaged in South Waziristan and prior to that in the Swat Valley.

Military operations in the Swat valley and later in South Waziristan drove Taliban to surrounding tribal regions of Orakzai and Khurram. In the last weeks of 2009 the Pakistan airforce had increased the velocity of airstrikes in those areas to prevent militants from establishing new bases.

Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gillani had also announced that the next deployment of ground troops will target Orakzai.

“Contrary to how it was portrayed in the American media, Pakistan army’s operation and tactical decisions are based on immediate threats, resource availability and possibility of success,” said a Pakistani official on condition of anonymity. “It is irresponsible to think that we are not going after any particular network of Taliban,” he said referring to reports that Pakistan does not want to go after the Haqqani network.

But due to the recent spate of violence Pakistan army has changed its plan and North Waziristan operation will began shortly.

The year of 2009 will be remembered as the deadliest year in the history of Pakistan. Nearly a hundred terrorists blew themselves up, thousands of innocent people lost their lives and thousands more were brutally injured during the year.

The statistics also show that 2009 witnessed over 33 percent more attacks than 2008. Fifty-nine bombers struck in 2008 and 56 in 2007. The number of similar attacks was seven in 2006, four in 2005, seven in 2004 and two each in 2003 and 2002.

Throughout the country 2,257 civilians and 1,004 security personnel were killed in terrorist attacks. The reported number of militants killed during the year was over 8,000.

NWFP was the worst hit – 49 suicide attacks in 2009. During the same period, 22 suicide bombers succeeded to carry out attacks in various parts of Punjab and Islamabad.

Seven suicide bombings rocked the federally administered tribal areas (Fata), while two bombers struck in Balochistan.

We could have said Sindh was the only exception- but forty people were killed and scores wounded in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on December 28^th when a suicide bomber struck country’s largest procession of Shia Muslims on the holiest day in their calendar.

January, July and September were comparatively peaceful. Nine suicide bombings were carried out across the country during the current month, nine each in October and November, four in September, six in August, four in July, nine in June, seven in May, six in April, seven each in March and February and three in January.

In the most horrendous of these bombings, 177 people, including a large number of women and children, were killed Oct 28 in a suicide attack at a crowded market in Peshawar, the NWFP capital.

The bombing at Parade Lane Mosque in Rawalpindi during the first week of December claimed the lives of several senior military officials, including a major general, two brigadiers and two colonels. The only son of the Corps Commander Peshawar was among several children of the army officers who lost their lives in this attack.

Several high-profile figures lost their lives in 2009 includes – two members of the NWFP Assembly, Dr Shamsher Ali Khan, killed in a suicide bombing in Swat last month and Mr. Alamzeb Khan,  killed in a roadside bomb attack on his car in Peshawar in January.

NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour survived a second suicide attack on March 11, which left six people including two suicide bombers dead.

Even the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency was not spared. The suicide bombers blasted a vehicle loaded with 100 kilograms of explosives near offices of the capital city police officer (CCPO) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Lahore on March 11. In the above attack 27 persons were killed and 326 others were injured. An ISI colonel and 15 police officials were among those killed.

An attack on an ISI facility in Peshawar in November killed 13 people and a similar attack in the Punjab town of Multan claimed 12 lives.

The suicide attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar on June 9 and the huge blast in Soekarno Square on October 9 were the two other deadly blasts. Over 17 people were killed and over 60 wounded in the bombing in Peshawar’s lone five-star hotel, prompting foreigners and diplomats to leave the provincial capital. The blast in Soekarno Square left over 55 people killed and many wounded. It was later removed from the list of suicide bombings, and classified as a car bomb.

On June 5, a suicide bomber killed 49 worshippers, including 12 children, at a mosque in a remote village of Dir Upper District. Dozens more were injured as a young man with explosives fastened to his body exploded minutes before the Friday gathering in the Hayagay Sharqi village.

Two successive blasts killed around 50 people and injured more than 100 at the crowded Moon Market in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore in Punjab. The two bombs exploded with an interval of 30 seconds.

Anti-Taliban military operations began in the NWFP in April 2009- when President Zardari was in Washington DC to meet President Obama and other American representatives. Within six months the military had managed to push the militants into their strongholds in South Waziristan.

With the armed forces turning to this region in October, the suicide attacks were seen as a last desperate bid to stave off the military assault.

On September 25 the US Senate unanimously passed the revised version of the Kerry-Lugar bill to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion per annum, pledging America’s long term commitment to its key ally against extremism. But this backfired!

We were in New York covering President Zardari’s activities at the UN general assembly and a grand meeting with ‘Friends of Democratic Pakistan.’ President Obama announced that the Senate had passed the bill during this meeting to a thunderous applause.

But the celebration did not last long. A correspondent of an English language daily newspaper received a call from a Pakistani Brigadier- I was standing so close that I could literally hear the conversation. “Email check ker laoo. Wadi problem hay adday wich,” {check your email. There are lots of problem} the voice on the end told my peer in Punjabi. This journalist promised his caller that it will be the lead story in his paper “tussi fikar hee na karo,” {you don’t have to worry}. After he got off the phone he showed me the email on his blackberry. The rest is history. Highly paid Pakistani journalists raised hell for four weeks before completely abandoning this issue.

And, then there was the NRO fiasco! This time around the same judge who was hired to the top Supreme Court job by a military dictator decided to weaken the democratic setup. President Zardari found the ground swept away from under his feet when the Supreme Court invalidated the 2007 National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on Dec 16. The ordinance had granted immunity from corruption charges to his slain wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, himself, along with  hundreds of politicians and bureaucrats, enabling many to return home from exile.

The NRO, issued by former president Pervez Musharraf, had scrapped all corruption cases against politicians and bureaucrats filed between January 1986 and October 1999 on the grounds that they may have been politically motivated. The court has now ruled that the cases would be restored.

The entire year of 2009 evokes distressing memories of terrorism, bloodshed, deceit and conspiracies against the people of Pakistan.

ECONOMY

Interestingly enough, 2009 was a better year for Pakistan rupees than 2008. Forex analysis website, Dollars Magazine reports that the Pak rupee weakened 6.17 percent in 2009 after losing 22.12 percent in 2008. For Pakistan, the lesser loss was the good news of 2009.

A note on Facebook from another Pakistani journalist Beena Sarwar proclaiming  that “We shall overcome” leaves me optimistic that 2010 will bring peace and stability.  But, it will take the Pakistani people to rise up and demand that all state officials and institutions respond effectively to this crisis and begin making the welfare and interests of its citizens an urgent priority.