The Taliban in Pakistan

VBS.tv is an online television network owned by the Vice media conglomerate. The network produces original, short-form, documentary-style video content. Subject matter includes humanitarian issues, music, insider travel guides, and news.

                                                                                              - Wikipedia entry on VBS.tv

VBS isn't a website I normally frequent, but they do occasionally host short documentaries shot in various troubled regions of the world, from North Korea to Liberia. These documentaries often focus on the region's troubles from the perspective of average people on the street and are told mainly through interviews and brief narration.

Recently, Vice did one titled "The Taliban in Pakistan" which really impressed me.



Suroosh Alvi (an Indian Canadian journalist and co-founder of Vice) took a trip to Peshawar to talk with people living and working there and in the surrounding regions. I'll leave the details for the video to show, but I will comment on my reaction and some of the things that stood out to me.

Right from the start we are reminded of the grim reality faced by people working and living in the area. Scenes of people injured in a suicide bombing, barricades and armed guards set up at the hotel the host is staying at and aerial shots of the sprawling desert city set the stage.

While talking with a member of the Pakistani Police force, one of the Police officers claims really struck me. He remarked that "The Taliban have better equipment than we do. We can't match what they have. We are here waiting and dying for the country on minimum wage. It would be nice if the government helped us." To me that is absolutely mind blowing in several ways. I think the immediate reaction is to ask why the Pakistani government is not supporting these people with better supplies and military assistance. Generally I think the purpose of the Police is to deal with civilian and local issues - not to battle insurgents. So I am not sure if these policemen are also part of the military, or are simply filly in a void, but the situation seems totally backwards. The second question that leaps to mind is, what is motivating these Policemen to put themselves in these positions? To put your life at major risk fighting with poor supplies for a seemingly unsupportive government and at minimum wage, which for a Pakistani must be terribly little... I just can't imagine people would be willing to do this kind of work, and yet people are. It really says a lot about the bravery these men posses.

One of the most telling parts of the documentary was when Alvi was speaking with Iqbal Khattak, bureau chief of the Peshawar newspaper "Daily Times", about the use of the U.S. predator drones. He recalled an interview he had had with former Taliban commander Baitullah Meshud in which Meshud had this to say about the drone attacks:

"If I campaign for three months to win the hearts and minds of the local population I may get some fifty or sixty people over to my side. But a single drone attack brings the whole village to my side."

I think this quote summarizes one of the fundamental issue America is facing in this "War on Terrorism" beautifully.

Some of the more disturbing scenes in the documentary are videos glorifying young suicide bombers shot by the insurgents, one in particular shows a young man smiling and waving as he gets into a large truck, and the scene then cuts to a far away shot of the truck driving up to a security checkpoint and seconds later an enormous explosion occurs. These clips put a human face behind the black ski masks, and it is sobering.

Though this documentary wasn't directly about Afghanistan, I certainly feel like it leaves the viewer with real perspective on some of the realities and issues which are facing the region and the way in which it was shot offers us a view which most of us never get to see.