September 11 changed the world.  And Pakistan’s standing in the world league.  From being a pariah state that was suspended from the Commonwealth, had economic and military sanctions clamped on it, was criticised at every forum and cold-shouldered by erstwhile allies, Pakistan has suddenly emerged as a frontline state and is being wooed by the likes of Bush and Blair.

        And while India is chastened at being left out of the loop and is making its discomfiture quite obvious, Pakistan is not exactly celebrating its new-found status, which by all accounts has been forced on it. The country  has been down a similar road before – and reaped the disasters of being the most allied ally of the US in its war against the Soviet invasion.  Guns, drugs, sectarianism, violence, 2.5 million refugees…  The US literally got away scot-free, while Pakistan was “left high and dry,” to quote General Musharraf.

        Pakistan continues to suffer the consequences of a radical brand of Islam and the madrassa culture spawned by a US-led war against the Soviets, which was nurtured by General Zia-ul-Haq and his coterie and ignored or conversely pampered by subsequent governments.

      The people of Pakistan are understandably concerned that the US may walk away a second time leaving Pakistan to host yet more refugees, tackle belligerent pro-Taliban extremists within the country, as well as face the prospect of an unfriendly government in Afghanistan.

      The US promises of ‘reconstruction and development’ in post-war Afghanistan are viewed with cynicism by a world that has grown wary and weary of US doublespeak and hypocrisy.

      No one condones the actions of September 11, they were abominable.  But the world has seen the American establishment not only turn a blind eye, but actually condone continuing acts of terrorism in other parts of the world, Palestine being a classic example.  Will the US turn its sights on these faultlines once its war against bin Laden is over, is a question that has come into sharp focus.  The dubious role of the world’s only superpower in international disputes is drawing increasing international criticism.

      The September 11 incident may well prove to be a turning point in shaping American sensibility and sensitivity.  For the majority of the Americans, cocooned in their own ‘limited’ worlds, isolated from events across the globe, the world begins and ends at their doorstep.  The bombings in New York and Washington have altered all that.  Possibly this time round, the people of the world’s most powerful democracy  will start to question their own government’s controversial policies abroad.

        As US forces dropped bombs on a war-ravaged, drought-ridden Afghanistan and the world saw images of distraught refugees fleeing to the borders of Iran and Pakistan in droves, and news came of civilian casualties, most wondered if war was the best option, if terrorism could be avenged by retribution without striking at the root cause of the malady that had led to one of the most shocking tragedies of 2001.