Daily Times

LAHORE: A conversation on the book ‘Misunderstood Ally’ was held on Friday evening at ‘Patakha Booti’ restaurant.

The book has been written by Faraz Inam, known for his role in the Pakistani drama serial ‘Alpha Bravo Charlie’, aired in the 90s.

Faraz has been on a trip to Pakistan for promotion of his book originally published some years back. He currently resides in Canada. Minahil, a LUMS graduate, moderated the session. People from various walks of life, including the media, attended the sitting.

Talking to small gathering of book lovers called ‘Bookay’, Faraz said that the book was his contribution to the existing discourse and debate on the war on terror.

“The era right after the 9/11 attacks was the decade of disaster. It saw the worst terrorist acts in Pakistan,” he said. Responding to a question about how he got the idea of writing a full-fledged book on the issue of terrorism, he said he was employed in Dubai and used to have a lot of interaction with people of other nationalities, who blamed Pakistan. “At that time, we used to have a debate in and outside the country about the US as our friend or foe in the war on terror,” he said.

“I wanted to tell people living in the Western countries that Pakistan was a country that had all kinds of people, including liberals. We came across diverse opinions on the challenges and issues facing the country,” he said.

“We got our first ever woman prime minister. It is a fact that even the US has not elected any woman as its president or vice president. However, a Muslim country twice elected a woman as its PM. I used this argument a lot to defend Pakistan abroad,” he said.

“The book is a piece of fiction. It is a novel that consists of three characters, representing the narratives of citizens of Pakistan. Two of them represent the militant and Western mindsets. They have their own arguments to justify fighting a war against each other. This novel is a continuation of a discourse on these arguments,” Faraz said.

“There is a deceptive perception about the war on terror and we need to get rid of it. We need to listen to different narratives with full attention in order to lead the debate where we can find a solution.” “The concept of strategic depth has become irrelevant now as those fighting on our side stabbed us in the back. I fully agree with former president Musharraf that we have to uproot the terrorist mindset,” Faraz said.

He said the book was an effort to promote understanding about the US government and public, who were providing their tax-payers’ money to Pakistan. “This book is an effort to answer questions such as: what they want from us? And why we always bash the US despite the money being provided to our country? The third narrative is that of a Pakistani who is struck between the rock and hard place and standing at a crossroads,” Faraz said.

The author said that Afghan jihad was started for a good reason, but it ended up producing psychopaths who were ready to fight for any group.

“Musharraf decided to support US in the war on terror as an ally as there was no other option left for the Pakistan. My father was in the air force. He was told by his friend Mushaf Ali Mir, a former Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chief, that Musharraf had been clearly informed by the navy, army and air force that they had limited resources to fight against a superpower. Pakistan decided to support the US in the war on terror. The lower generals were not convinced as they were attached with the people, they supported the idea of strategic depth,” he said.

Published in Daily Times, December 31^st 2017.