Experts urge US to conduct regional study on post-9/11 losses

Islamabad : Speaking at a webinar the experts termed the 9/11 incident as the high outcome of the hybrid war that intensified 5th generation warfare all around the globe.

The incident changed the entire landscape of peace and prosperity globally, especially an unrepairable dent to the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

While talking and negotiating the peace process in Afghanistan, the US, and NATO countries should also consider having a comprehensive regional study on the impact of 19 years of consistent threat of terrorism on the mental health of people living in the region. The study should also include the impact of the war against terrorism on socioeconomic conditions, culture, and environment of both countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A rehabilitation programme should follow the post-peace process accordingly.

The webinar was organized by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) and DTNTV on Saturday.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said that frustration and chaos is rising up in the developing countries as the 5th generation warfare intensifies. “State institutions are confronting their own citizens for doubts of integrity. The right to information and expression is being declined, adding more frustration and distress among the young and those having differently framed opinions. This distrust may lead to an anarchic situation and direct confrontation between the state institutions and the people thinking differently if the confidence-building measures are not taken up,” he added.

Ahmed said the mental health, cultural and environmental loss of Afghanistan and Pakistan had never been accounted for while talking about the post 9/11 impact and losses. Before the US and NATO decide to quit Afghanistan, they should take up a study of social and environmental loss followed by rehabilitation investment.

Dr. Imran Ashraf, assistant professor international relations at the National Defence University (NDU), said we are living in the era of 5th generation warfare were misleading, pessimist and conflict-raining information plays a crucial role in disorienting the citizens. “The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the main source of dissemination of such type of information that disintegrates the fabric of society. It also creates frustration and distress. The government needs to have a check on ICT use in Pakistan without compromising on the basic rights of the citizens,” he added.

Well-known environmentalist and former director general of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Asif Shuja Khan said air, water, and land have been immensely degraded during the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan's foreign office shall write to the US and NATO for a comprehensive study of the environmental, cultural and socioeconomic loss. It should be followed by a rehabilitation plan. Not only 9/11 but the post-event trauma was more horrible for the mental and psychological health of the people living in the region.

Geopolitical analyst Shamshad Mangat said the 9/11 incident only benefited the global ordnance factories and the manufacturers of the heavy weapons. A country for the benefit of some destroyed the entire landscape of global peace and prosperity.