These are difficult times for professional journalists in Pakistan. Eleven were killed last year in the line of duty. They were either caught in the crossfire of ethnic or extremist violence or targeted and eliminated by state and non-state groups for their political views.

Saleem Shehzad, for example, was abducted, tortured and killed last year and a commission of inquiry is still floundering in murky waters. He had exposed the infiltration of the armed forces by elements affiliated with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Several journalists from Balochistan have been killed by non-state vigilantes sponsored by state agencies, others have fled to Europe or USA because they had sympathies with the nationalist cause in the province. Some from Karachi have taken refuge abroad because they were threatened by ethnic or sectarian groups or parties.

Now an insidious campaign is afoot to target senior journalists who question the wisdom of the security establishment on a host of thorny issues. They are being labeled as "American-CIA agents". This is an incitement to violence against them in the highly charged anti-American environment in Pakistan today. Consider.

If you say the military's notion of "strategic depth" in Afghanistan is misplaced, outdated or counter-productive, you are a CIA agent.

If you say the military was either complicit or incompetent in the OBL-Abbottabad case, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the civilians should have control over the military as stipulated in the constitution, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the military shouldn't enter into peace deals with the Taliban that enable them to reorganize and seize Pakistani territory, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the drones have taken a welcome toll of extremist Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the military's annual defense budget, which amounts to nearly half of all tax revenues, should be scrutinized by parliament or the Auditor General of Pakistan, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the one and same resignation criterion should be applied to both Ambassador Husain Haqqani and DG-ISI Ahmed Shuja Pasha - the former is accused of trying to influence the American government to back up the civilian government of Pakistan in its attempt to establish civilian control over its army and the latter is accused of seeking the support of Arab regimes for the overthrow of the civilian regime ( both accusations come from one and the same individual) - you are a CIA agent.

If you say we should construct a social welfare state in place of a national security state, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that fundamental citizens rights enshrined in the constitution cannot be violated at the altar of a narrow definition of national security defined exclusively by the security state, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that human rights violations in Balochistan carried out by the security agencies are as condemnable as the ethnic cleansing of Punjabi settlers by Baloch insurgents, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that Pakistan's foreign policy should not be the exclusive domain of the military establishment, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the Pakistan military's conventional and nuclear weapons doctrine amounts to a crippling arms race with India rather than a minimal optimal defensive deterrence, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the ISI is an unaccountable state within a state, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that belt-tightening measures to control budgetary deficits and inflation should apply to wasteful aspects of defense expenditures no less than to wasteful aspects of civilian government expenditures, you are a CIA agent.

If you say that the Supreme Court should pull out Air Marshal Asghar Khan's ISI-Mehrangate 1991 case from cold storage and adjudge it along with the Memogate 2011 case, you are a CIA agent.

The irony is that the Pakistan military remains the single largest recipient of American aid in the last sixty five years. The irony is that all military coups in Pakistan have drawn legal and political sustenance from America. The irony is that the Pakistani military has signed more defense pacts and agreements with America than all civilian governments to date. The irony is the Pakistan military has partnered America in Afghanistan in the 1980s, fought its war on terror and leased out Pakistani air bases and Pakistan air space corridors to America in the 2000s, and sent hundreds of officers for training and education to America in the last six decades.

The greater irony is that all those liberal, progressive, anti-imperialist Pakistani citizens who have opposed US hegemony and protested American military interventions in the Third World all their lives are today branded as CIA agents by the very state security agencies and non state religious parties and jehadi groups who have taken American money and weapons and done America's bidding all their lives.

Comments (24 comments)

how true.. you are the voice of millions in pak. keep it up sethi sb. Allah bless you always. wish these so called security agents may understand that they have done enough with the country for their so called strategic depth. country on the brink of breaking once again and they just air off ur programme against them. pity it is.. and we like you always!

Posted: Friday, March 02, 2012 by sameera from khi

So that makes you a super CIA agent....right!?

Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 by Saifullah from Islamabad

Right Sethi sb and there are certain writers and anchors who doing their business and being used by such force. they have great role to call all realists are CIA or RAW agent.

Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 by majid Maqsood from karachi

Mr.Sethi you are one of the most distinguished journalists of Pakistan.Extremely knowledgable and competent,you are exceptionally articulate on national and international issues. Sethi Saab you are the voice of reason and logic.Please do not get influenced by those who do not know but serve the interest of the security establishment,who know and serve the interest of the security establishment and the security establishment itself whose interest collides with that of the state of Pakistan.And rest assured that alhough not very organized yet a very large segment of the population admires you and considers you a genuine intellect always there to fill gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 by WASEEM ALTAF from Islamabad

Mr.Sethi you are one of the most distinguished journalists of Pakistan.Extremely knowledgable and competent,you are exceptionally articulate on national and international issues. Sethi Saab you are the voice of reason and logic.Please do not get influenced by those who do not know but serve the interest of the security establishment,who know and serve the interest of the security establishment and the security establishment itself whose interest collides with that of the state of Pakistan.And rest assured that alhough not very organized yet a very large segment of the population admires you and considers you a genuine intellect always there to fill gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012 by WASEEM ALTAF from Islamabad

As always the voice of reason.

Posted: Monday, January 09, 2012 by John from USA

i am glad that there are intellectuals like mr seithi who have the cheek to call spade a spade-unlike some of the others in the mainstream media, who bend over backwards to protect these dishonest and incomptent officers.

Posted: Monday, January 09, 2012 by ummar from abbottabad

True but where do we go from here? (1)Respect for the Rule of Law (2)REVISE TEXT BOOKS PREACING HATRED(3)better relations with India. Abandon *India centric policy and so reduce military budget to provide social services(4)a small well trained army and a standing army trained periodically while it performs services in the social sector(5) A strict population policy(6) introduce agriculture tax (7)Repect for the Rule of Law(8) implementation of the dictat of the stae

Posted: Monday, January 09, 2012 by rasheeda husaion from Karachi Pakistan

Bold and blunt. I wish you don't become a victim to what you have explained in the beginning of this article. Stay safe and keept it up. Well done !

Posted: Sunday, January 08, 2012 by Rehmat Wali Shinwari from Peshawar

100% agreed Sethi sahib.

Posted: Sunday, January 08, 2012 by Jinn from Peshawar

To sum up: Every sane national of Pakistan is a CIA agent.

Posted: Sunday, January 08, 2012 by NGC300 from Chile

In short, if you support civilian supremacy as enshrined in the constitution - you are a CIA agent

Posted: Sunday, January 08, 2012 by Nadeem Khan from Islamabad

Superb Sir! An excellent reflection of the military hegemony on the state affairs.....we wish that speakers like u may keep spreading awareness among the masses safely and may contribute ur part in building social welfare and prosperous state.

Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012 by ali_actuary from Lahore, Pakistan

I agree with the Sethi's whole narration, it's a quite real picture of our system.

Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012 by Prof.Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh from Hyderabad Sindh

I agree with the points mr Sethi has raised in his article with the exception of few. Mr sethi has righytly pointed out that military should be under civilian control but it's only possible when the civilian goverment is competent not like the present incompetent administration which lacks the morality.

Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012 by USMAN UL HAQ from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Najam sahib, don’t throw the towel: hang in there. I was surprised to see an editorial with such “strategic depth”. I think the question, of who is and who isn’t a CIA agent in Pakistan, is outdated. True that countries around the world are struggling to justify the gap between the rich and the poor, the reasons of recession, and the widening gap between the moral standards for home and abroad, but the fact remains: “Establishments” are cutting down on the taken for granted human rights. No doubt, TFT speaks for the millions in Pakistan, but the way the press and media in Pakistan is asserting its independence, and challenging the writ of the government, is deplorable. I think TFT should educate, at least the English readers in Pakistan, on three things: Firstly, democracy was, and is, the struggle of the masses against the rulers; Secondly, the misconception of the masses, that some ideal democracy is the cure for all the problems in Pakistan, needs correction; and lastly the double standards of the “civilised world”, when it comes to human rights and democracy, is against the interests of Pakistan. Having said that I must say that War is no longer a profitable industry, and countries around the world are curtailing the expanse on ARMIES.

Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012 by Mazhar khaliq from London.

MR.sethi you are best analyst i have acome across in decades.Please keep up the spirit higher.

Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012 by mohammad zafar from karachi

Facts based & well written article . Conventional defense strategy should be changed & size of establishment should be reduced to avoid the economic break down . Establishment is not ready to leave its unconstitutional right of rule, therefore, civil institutions are facing great crisis .Memo gate example is the fresh example of military revolt against the civil government.

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Mustafa Khan from Lahore

100% agree with the analysis of Najam Sehti saib.

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Nawaz khalil from uk

Excellent Sethi Sahab:) Keep it up. More power to you

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Aamir Mughal from Karachi

Since I agree with everything you have said in this essay, I too must be CIA agent. What's more, I advocate peace with India so I guess I'm also a RAW agent. Oh well!

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Javaid R. Shami from Lahore

great write up,bold brave and factual...this is called true and blessed pen and journalism..Love you najam sethi..you are the Socrates of journalism...

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by nawaz khan from islamabad

and lastly . . . If you like this article by sethi sahab, you are a CIA agent.

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Azmat Ali Shah from Mardan

Each and every word of this article is true. Keep on telling truth Sir. Bravery is its own reward.

Posted: Friday, January 06, 2012 by Free Thinker from Lahore