Opinion;

Ukraine War: Another Side of Miseries ‫ﻣﺼﺎﺋﺐ‬

Author: Munir Ahmed

Energy and food crises for the world are looming ‫ﺑﮍﮬﻨﺎ‬
large as the US and NATO keep on backing ،‫ﭘﺸﺖ ﭘﻨﺎﮨﯽ‬
‫ ﺳﮩﺎرا‬Ukraine and fueling ‫ ﮨﻮا دﯾﻨﺎ‬the Russia-Ukraine war
with heavy shipments ‫ ﺗﺮﺳﯿﻞ‬of military aid. On the 97th
day, Ukraine is a war-devastated ‫ ﺟﻨﮓ ﺳﮯ ﺗﺒﺎہ‬country
under the heavy debt ‫ ﻗﺮﺿﮧ‬of the US and NATO. The
impact of the war is rising with the global security
threats to food security, economies and peace. The
prolonged ‫ ﻃﻮﯾﻞ‬war is only benefiting a few key
players in the war economy while the rest have faced
the consequences ‫ ﻧﺘﺎﺋﺞ‬for decades. World media is
showing only one side of the story that Ukraine has
been destroyed by Russian forces and war crimes are
on. The situation cannot be analyzed without hearing
the other side and that is missing – the Russian point
of view. In war, though, all the success stories of both
sides are the miseries ‫ﺑﺪﺑﺨﺘﯽ‬، ‫ ﻣﺼﺎﺋﺐ‬of human pain.
The warmongers ‫ ﺟﻨﮓ ﺟﻮ‬never understood. Media
reporting shall be more objective towards the human
crisis than the gain of the vested ‫ ذاﺗﯽ‬geopolitical and
geo-economic interests.

A day before the Russian troops were moving deeper

into the besieged ‫ ﻣﺤﺎﺻﺮہ ﮐﯿﺎ ﮔﯿﺎ‬،‫ ﻣﺤﺼﻮر‬Donbas city of
Severodonetsk from the outskirts ‫ﻣﻀﺎﻓﺎت‬. The US
media reported that two civilians were killed and five
wounded by Russian shelling. All critical ‫اﮨﻢ‬
infrastructure in Severodonetsk has been destroyed
and 90 per cent of buildings damaged as Ukrainian
forces battle to hold off ‫ دور رﮐﮭﻨﺎ‬،‫ ﻣﺰاﺣﻤﺖ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬Russian
attempts to capture the key city in the eastern Luhansk
region, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Ukrainian forces counterattack ‫ ﺟﻮاﺑﯽ ﺣﻤﻠﮧ‬in the south,

claiming to have pushed back Russian troops in
Kherson – the only region fully controlled by Russian
forces. On the other hand, Russia says that the
Ukrainian defence forces are gradually retreating ‫ﭘﺴﭙﺎ‬
‫ ﮨﻮﻧﺎ‬under the onslaught ‫ ﺣﻤﻠﮯ‬of the Russian Armed
Forces. The tactical ‫ ﺷﺎﻃﺮاﻧﮧ‬regrouping of units from
the northern regions of Ukraine allowed Russia to
concentrate ‫ ﺗﻮﺟﮧ ﻣﺮﮐﻮز‬its most combat-ready forces in
the Donbass region and proceed with the second
phase of the special military operation. With the start
of the second phase of Russia’s special military
operation and the intensification ‫ ﺷﺪت‬of hostilities
‫ دﺷﻤﻨﯽ‬in Donbas, the grouping of Ukrainian armed
forces in the region found itself in a critical ‫ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺸﻨﺎک‬
situation. After the complete mopping up of the city of
Mariupol, the units of the Russian Armed Forces
concentrated ‫ اﯾﮏ ﺟﺎ‬in the region. Mariupol, Russian
Armed Forces units focused their main efforts on
completing the encirclement ‫ ﮔﮭﯿﺮاؤ‬of Ukrainian armed
formations and their subsequent ‫ ﻣﺎﺑﻌﺪ‬،‫اس ﮐﮯ ﻧﺘﯿﺠﮯ ﻣﯿﮟ‬
defeat.

The US and NATO shall refrain ‫ ﺑﺎز رﮨﻨﺎ‬from fueling ‫ﮨﻮا‬

‫ دﯾﻨﺎ‬the Ukraine war for the larger good of humanity.

Russia believes that the only way to peace is Kyiv’s

acceptance of the terms of the peace agreement
proposed by Moscow. Russia will continue its
offensive ‫ ﺟﺎرﺣﯿﺖ‬in a special military operation until it
achieves its goals. However, the Ukrainian leadership
has a chance to stop further bloodshed ‫ ﺧﻮن ﺧﺮاﺑﮧ‬and
resistance ‫ ﻣﺰاﺣﻤﺖ‬to the ‘last Ukrainian’. To do this,
Kyiv needs to enshrine in ‫ ﻋﺰﯾﺰ رﮐﮭﻨﺎ‬the Ukrainian
constitution a provision ‫ ﻓﺮاﮨﻤﯽ‬on its neutral status.
Kyiv shall officially renounce ‫ رد ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬the ideology of
Nazism, recognize the status of Crimea and the
Donbass republics, and not impede ‫ روﮐﻨﺎ‬the free
expression of will by residents of other southern
regions of Ukraine on the issue of their self-
determination ‫ﺣﻖ ﺧﻮدارادﯾﺖ‬.

The Ukrainian example demonstrates ‫ ﻣﻈﺎﮨﺮہ ﮐﺮﺗﺎ ﮨﮯ‬the

implementation ‫ ﻋﻤﻞ درآﻣﺪ‬،‫ ﺗﮑﻤﯿﻞ‬of the US strategy of
military, technical and financial support for countries
hostile ‫ ﻣﺨﺎﻟﻒ‬،‫ دﺷﻤﻦ‬to Washington’s main geopolitical
adversaries ‫ﻣﺨﺎﻟﻔﻮں‬, China and Russia. The Chinese
government has not officially condemned ‫ﻣﺬﻣﺖ ﮐﯽ‬
Russia’s invasion ‫ ﺣﻤﻠﮧ‬of Ukraine and, on the contrary
‫ﺑﺮﻋﮑﺲ‬, constantly accuses ‫ اﻟﺰام ﻟﮕﺎﻧﺎ‬the United States
and NATO of provoking ‫ اﺷﺘﻌﺎل دﯾﻨﺎ‬Russia and
fomenting ‫ اﮐﺴﺎﻧﺎ‬conflict ‫ ﺗﻨﺎزﻋﮧ‬in Ukraine by supplying
weapons. In response to Beijing’s adamant ‫ﻧﺎﻗﺎﺑﻞ‬
ِ ،‫ﺑﻀﺪ‬
‫ ﺷﮑﺴﺖ‬position, Western countries are exerting ‫ڈاﻟﻨﺎ‬
unprecedented ‫ ﺑﮯﻣﺜﺎل‬pressure on China because of
the militarization of the South China Sea, Uighur
detention camps, suppression ‫ دﺑﺎﻧﺎ‬of anti-government
protests in Hong Kong and intentions ‫ ارادے‬to return
Taiwan to its sphere ‫ داﺋﺮہ‬of influence ‫اﺛﺮورﺳﻮخ‬.

The European Union is ready to confront ‫ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﮧ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬

Russia “to the last Ukrainian”. During a visit to Kyiv, the
head of European diplomacy ‫ ﺳﻔﺎرﺗﮑﺎر‬Borrell, for the
first time in the history of the European Union, wished
that the conflict be resolved militarily rather than
diplomatically. Strangely, he urged ‫ زور دﯾﺎ‬EU countries
to increase military support to Kyiv, which would
ً
certainly ‫ﯾﻘﯿﻨﺎ‬ negatively affect the conflict resolution
process and lead to increased casualties ‫ﮨﻼﮐﺘﯿﮟ‬
among Ukrainian civilians and servicemen of the
Ukrainian Armed Forces. Borrell’s statement is a clear
direction that the war is not going to end sooner.
Rather, it may engulf ‫ ﻟﭙﯿﭧ ﻣﯿﮟ ﻟﯿﻨﺎ‬،‫ ﮔﮭﯿﺮﻧﺎ‬other countries
and regions.

Interestingly, in the absence of additional reserves

‫ ذﺧﺎﺋﺮ‬of weapons and military equipment in Western
countries, military aid to Ukraine has been significantly
reduced. For example, the Greek Cabinet of Ministers
confirmed its intention not to send new shipments
‫ ﺗﺮﺳﯿﻞ‬of weapons to Ukraine. At the same time,
Germany, Slovakia, Poland and the Baltic States are
limiting deliveries from mothballed warehouses of
obsolete ‫ ﻓﺮﺳﻮدہ‬weapons of no combat value.

Ukraine’s appeal to the US to recognize Russia as a

“state sponsor of terrorism” is a vivid ‫ واﺿﺢ‬example of
the double standards policy. While accusing ‫اﻟﺰام ﻟﮕﺎﻧﺎ‬
Moscow of supporting radical ‫ اﻧﺘﮩﺎ ﭘﺴﻨﺪ‬forces, Kyiv
conceals ‫ ﭼﮭﭙﺎﻧﺎ‬allegedly ‫ ﻣﺒﯿﻨﮧ‬the establishment and
continued financial and technical support by
Washington of terrorist cells in the Middle East,
Central Asia and Africa, whose fighters are fighting
against governments unfriendly to the White House.

Ukraine’s demand for an international tribunal ‫ﻣﺴﻨﺪ‬

‫ ﻋﺪاﻟﺖ‬to examine Russia’s “war crimes” may have the
opposite effect on the Kyiv regime ‫ﺣﮑﻮﻣﺖ‬. Unlike Kyiv,
Moscow has real evidence of atrocities ‫ﻣﻈﺎﻟﻢ‬
committed by Ukrainian servicemen and fighters of
nationalist battalions in the Donbass and during
combat ‫ ﻟﮍائ‬,‫ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﮧ‬operations against Russian Armed
Forces units. A Russian spokesman ‫ ﺗﺮﺟﻤﺎن‬has said
that the employees of the Prosecutor General’s Office
and the Investigative Committee of the Russian
Federation are present on the battlefield and in the
liberated ‫ آزاد‬cities of Ukraine to record all the crimes
committed by the Ukrainian side. All those involved
will be brought to justice at a military tribunal once the
special military operation comes to an end.

After footage of torture and abuse of Russian

prisoners ‫ ﻗﯿﺪی‬of war appeared online, the commands
of the armed forces and the State Border Guard
Service of Ukraine sent out new combat orders, under
which a strict ban was imposed ‫ ﻋﺎﺋﺪ‬on the publication
of such videos in the public domain. These actions of
the military leadership are motivated by the fear that
documented abuse of Prisoners of Wars (POWs) may
be qualified as war crimes by international human
rights and humanitarian organizations. The US and
NATO shall refrain ‫ ﺑﺎز رﮨﻨﺎ‬from fueling ‫ ﮨﻮا دﯾﻨﺎ‬the
Ukraine war for the larger good of humanity so that
Russia could pull out of the war zone. Respectable exit
to all is the key for the sake of humanity. The world
cannot afford another prolonged ‫ ﻃﻮﯾﻞ‬armed conflict.

The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster,

and Director Devcom-Pakistan.
Sour grapes

Editorial 

FORMER prime minister Imran Khan’s abortive ‫ﻧﺎﮐﺎم‬

Azadi March has him blaming many things for his
decision to abandon ‫ﺗﺮک ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬, at least temporarily, his
rather boisterous ‫ ﺗﻨﺪ و ﺗﯿﺰ‬quest ‫ ﺟﺴﺘﺠﻮ‬to force the
ouster ‫ ﺑﺮﻃﺮﻓﯽ‬of the incumbent ‫ ﻣﻮﺟﻮدہ‬government. It
may just be sour grapes, but he has recently been
telling us that he called off his intended ‫ارادہ ﮐﯿﺎ ﮔﯿﺎ‬
siege ‫ ﻣﺤﺎﺻﺮہ‬of the capital for the sake of maintaining
national cohesion ‫ ﮨﻢ آﮨﻨﮕﯽ‬and avoiding bloodshed ‫ﺧﻮن‬
‫ﺧﺮاﺑﺎ‬. The truth is, the anticlimactic ‫ﺗﻨﺰﻟﯽ ﯾﺎ ﭘﺴﺘﯽ ﺳﮯ ﻣﺘﻌﻠﻖ‬
denouement ‫ اﻧﺠﺎم داﺳﺘﺎن‬of Mr Khan’s agitation ‫ﺗﺤﺮﯾﮏ‬
campaign against the ‘imported government’ seems to
have put him out of his depth as far as rationalising
‫ ﻋﻘﻠﯽ ﺑﻨﺎﻧﺎ‬،‫ درﺳﺖ ﺛﺎﺑﺖ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬it to his supporters is
concerned. He seems to be at pains to justify his
abrupt ‫ اﭼﺎﻧﮏ‬change of heart, giving reasons that
simply do not seem to gel ‫ ﻣﻀﺒﻮط ﺑﻨﺎﻧﺎ‬،‫ ﺟﻮڑﻧﺎ‬with his
‘normal’ approach ‫ ﻧﻘﻄﮧ ﻧﻈﺮ‬to politics. Is the ousted
‫ ﺑﺮﻃﺮف‬prime minister masking ‫ ڈﮬﺎﻧﭙﻨﺎ‬،‫ ﭼﮭﭙﺎﻧﺎ‬his hand, or
has he been humbled enough to finally accept that a
more measured approach to politics can still help
attain ‫ ﺣﺎﺻﻞ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬objectives? His future strategy remains
shrouded ‫ ڈﮬﮑﺎ‬in mystery ‫راز‬. He has confined ‫ﻣﺤﺪود‬
‫ رﮐﮭﻨﺎ‬himself, along with key PTI leaders, to Peshawar,
but he cannot hope to mobilise ‫ ﻣﺘﺤﺮک ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬the nation
against the government (as he has threatened) if he
remains holed up there. Is he waiting for something, or
just avoiding the possibility of arrest?

It is clear the temptation ‫ ﺗﺮﻏﯿﺐ‬،‫ اﺷﺘﻌﺎل‬،‫ ﻻﻟﭻ‬to revert

‫ واﭘﺲ ﭘﮭﯿﺮﻧﺎ‬to his usual self is strong. Already, Mr Khan
is speaking about being “better prepared” when (and
if) he returns to the capital for the next iteration ،‫اﻋﺎدہ‬
‫ ﺗﮑﺮار‬of Azadi March. What this better preparation will
entail ‫ ﻧﺘﯿﺠﮧ ﮨﻮﻧﺎ‬is unclear, but a suggestion from the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister to march with his
“own force” gives cause for concern ‫ﺗﺸﻮﯾﺶ‬. By his own
admission, Mr Khan’s supporters were carrying
firearms during the protest in Islamabad and he had
feared that they would exchange fire with law
enforcers if he had not pulled back. It is good that he
was candid ‫ ﮐﮭﺮا‬،‫ واﺿﺢ‬about the situation, but Mr Khan
surely realises that he cannot have expected anything
different given that his own rhetoric ‫ ﺑﯿﺎن ﺑﺎزی‬had
created so much animus ‫ ﻋﺪاوت‬between his
supporters and the state. He himself had been
referring to the marchers as his “attack force” and
exhorting ‫ ﺗﺮﻏﯿﺐ دﯾﻨﺎ‬them to force their way through
police ranks to get to Islamabad.
If he now believes protests should remain nonviolent
‫ ﻏﯿﺮ ﻣﺘﺸﺪد‬and non-confrontational ‫ﻏﯿﺮ ﻣﺘﺼﺎدم‬, it is Mr
Khan’s responsibility to strongly denounce ‫ﻣﺬﻣﺖ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬
and discourage the carrying of firearms ‫ آﺗﺸﯽ اﺳﻠﺤﮧ‬by
his supporters, as well as clarify and walk back the KP
CM’s suggestion that in the event of a confrontation
‫ ﺗﺼﺎدم‬with the centre, the KP police force may be
brought in . Every political party has a right to peaceful
protest and lawful assembly but the exercise of this
right should not be allowed to turn into a civil war-like
situation. Mr Khan can expect no sympathy ‫ﮨﻤﺪردی‬
from the law or the people till he eschews ‫ ﺗﺮک‬،‫ﺑﺎز رﮨﻨﺎ‬
‫ ﮐﺮﻧﺎ‬violent ‫ ﭘﺮﺗﺸﺪد‬confrontation ‫ ﺗﺼﺎدم‬،‫ ﻣﺤﺎذ آرائ‬with the
state.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2022

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also
called the North Atlantic Alliance, is
an intergovernmental military alliance between
30 member states – 27 European, one
transcontinental, and two North American. Established
in the aftermath of World War II on the insistence of
the Truman administration in the United States, the
organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty,
which was signed on 4 April 1949.

geopolitical
adjective
relating to politics, especially international relations, as
influenced by geographical factors

Geoeconomics (sometimes geo-economics) is the

study of the spatial, temporal, and political aspects of
economies and resources.

combat-ready
adjective
sufficiently equipped, trained, and numerically strong
to engage an enemy

mopping up
complete the military conquest of an area by capturing
or killing remaining enemy troops
Nazism  the common name in English for National
Socialism ), is the ideology and practices associated
with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany.
Nazism is a form of fascism, with disdain for liberal
democracy and the parliamentary system. It
incorporates fervent antisemitism, anti-
communism, scientific racism, and the use
of eugenics into its creed.

Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group

originating from and culturally affiliated with the
general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs
are recognized as native to the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region in Northwest China.
More than 1 million Uighurs and other minorities from
Xinjiang are believed to be held in internment ‫ﻗﯿﺪ‬
camps, where they are forced to study Marxism,
renounce their religion, work in factories and face
abuse, according to human rights groups and first-
hand accounts.

European Union (EU), international

organization comprising 27 European countries and
governing common economic, social, and security
policies. Originally confined to western Europe, the EU
undertook a robust expansion into central and eastern
Europe in the early 21st century. The EU’s members
are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, G
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sloven
and Sweden. The United Kingdom, which had been a
founding member of the EU, left the organization in
2020.

.
Mothball ‫ﻟﻔﻈﯽ ﻣﻄﻠﺐ ﮐﺎﻓﻮر ﮐﯽ ﮔﻮﻟﯽ‬
stop using (a piece of equipment or a building) but
keep it in good condition so that it can readily be used
again

State-sponsored terrorism is terrorist violence carried

out with the active support of national governments
provided to violent non-state actors. States can
sponsor terrorist groups in several ways, including but
not limited to funding terrorist organizations, providing
training, supplying weapons, providing other logistical
and intelligence assistance, and hosting groups within
their borders.

Definition of be one's usual self

: to behave in the way one usually does.
E.g; Is anything wrong? You're not your usual
civil war
noun
a war between citizens of the same country