Perhaps it just takes one falsehood to spoil and destroy a million truths. A liar remains a liar even if he attempts to speak the truth. In the current times we are all witness to hourly shifting of gears by politicians who are holding important offices. The war is over. The war is not over. A peace accord has been reached.
The peace talks are nowhere in sight. There is no firmness of either opinion or of actions. Both are used to belie each other. There’s a continuous battle to search for truth. From the garbage of irresponsible statements, one has to sift with a strainer to find what is ‘true’?
Any construction built upon falsehood will ultimately and inevitably crumble. A lie is essentially an expression of ingratitude. Human history is replete with incidents of ingratitude of men, women, societies and nations. The ingratitude of the Meccans led the Prophet (PBUH) to emigrate to Medina. The presence of “Truth” amidst them was causing tremors in the hearts of falsehood. If today, Iran represents the truth of having been attacked, the West appears as a symbol of falsehood, being the oppressor. The war is their provocation, Iran is merely responding to, aggression. Iran is not Iraq of the nineties. They are a nation with a spine. They have surprised the world with their resilience.
In the Holy City State, a system of justice, tolerance and forbearance was created as a landmark achievement in that era; it led to this unique standard of governance, which was to become a hallmark of a stable and righteous society. These fundamental teachings have been lost by Muslims during the past few centuries. The State of Medina’s cardinal policy statement was to ‘ live and let live. Peacefully.
The Jews residing in Medina felt safe and protected. They preferred to stay and not migrate upon the dawn of Islam. This was possible evidently because the emerging society reflected itself through a formidable presence of “Truth” as the underlying factor. Truth leads to justice. It is for this very reason that falsehood prevails to subdue truth.
It is awfully sad that it took a politician, who wasn’t a Muslim, but was of unique calibre, high integrity, exemplary conduct, a devout Christian, President of the USA, Abraham Lincoln, to say with passion and vehemence, “with malice toward none, with charity for all”. Such was the standard of truth then across the Atlantic too. The current political and social leadership of the US must revisit its map of commitment for upholding of the basic tenets of its foreign policy architecture conceived by Lincoln.
It was almost 100 years later that President John F. Kennedy (JFK) in a speech at Washington University (Nov 16th, 1963) echoed similar sentiments when he said, “ America cannot solve all the problems of the world”, stating that the USA is not omnipotent or omnipresent. He highlighted that the US constitutes only 6 percent of the world’s population, meaning that it cannot impose its will upon the other 94 percent. He further explained that there cannot be an American solution to global crises. JFK was being truthful. A visit to pages of history is overdue. Leadership must scan the archives for learning lessons.
The smallest of lies goes the longest of ways. Falsehood requires special talent to weave distortion of facts and represent it as truth. A camouflage. Only a devious mind can craft falsehood with precision, so that it appears as thing of respect and reverence. The comment by Watson Howe is so full of amusement: “Americans detest lies except lies spoken in public or a printed lie”. The search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a major facade for usurping oil wealth. Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia and several other countries footed the bill/invoice of both, the Senior and the Junior George Bushs’ Gulf war I and II adventures. Tony Blair, who acted as a poodle to the US, today sheds tears for his complicity to project falsehood as truth.
Truth dazzles, falsehood flickers. Upon the arms of the hands of the clock, truth slowly but surely gnaws to outwit falsity. Truth is prevalent, lies require manufacturing. Being mighty truth will prevail; it needs no ornaments of many words but falsehood does.
War, world powers must know, is death’s feast. War opens the gates of hell for those who side with falsehood. The West is experiencing it in the Gulf, and the gates of Eden open up for those who stand up resolutely to defend truth. Iran stands tall. Not everything is fair in war and love. Any loathsome adventure where human dignity is violated shall remain loathsome. No noble end can be a justification through evil and ignoble means. Israel, the rogue state in the Middle East, will never abide by these universal values.
Donald Trump and the USA have been duped and lured into an unnecessary war by Benjamin Netanyahu. The USA has become an active war participant only from the decades of the sixties and the seventies. Japan, it was that dragged USA into the Second World War.
It is a matter of record that, on 10th June, 1963, President Kennedy spelt out the American view about wars to students at the Washington University. He said, “The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war (readers can smile). We do not want a war.” And he ended his speech in the following words: “We shall do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labour on…not towards strategy of annihilation but towards strategy of peace”. Poor Kennedy’s soul and remains must be turning in the grave. What has the US done?
After Nixon, Carter and Reagan, all the following Presidents proved JFK wrong. All were belligerently trigger-happy and arrogant. A nation’s foreign policy must be aligned to represent the aspirations of its people and not the view of very few. Today the US policies are a far cry from it historical ideals. Similarly, there is not a single Muslim country whose foreign policy reflects the view of its people. The basic architecture is built upon foundations of falsity and deception. Truth is interned in most capital cities of the 57-odd Muslim countries. We remain an exception due to our nuclear status. Thanks to ZAB and Dr Qadeer Khan.
It is apparent that President Trump is highly gullible. Benjamin Netanyahu and Narendra Modi convinced him to wage war upon Iran. Although the agreement was ready by then and was expected to be signed the next day about nuclear disengagement. Even the pride and ego of the country luckily with full knowledge has been placed upon the altar. The US is exhibiting how dangerously it can pursue an agenda that is misperceived and false.
The trio (Trump, Netanyahu and Modi) miscalculated the outcomes of their foolish plans. Leadership when it ceases to be decisived loses its stature and punch. That’s exactly what Washington represents today. A nation in turmoil. A nation that doesn’t believe in war (JFK’s words) is unleashing its fury upon the unarmed civilians. Evil or falsehood is unsustainable. Keep fingers crossed.
Iran with a literacy rate exceeding 98 percent or more has shown that their scientists, engineers and pilots are no less intelligent. They have checkmated Israel’s invincibility each day since the aggression was imposed; they penetrate the skies over Israel that is new in manner and remains unpredictable for the Israeli batteries.
The USA is almost the only superpower in this new order. After the war, its position shall be questioned, asked and evaluated. As a great nation comprising great people, the USA has upon itself grave responsibility for promotion of peace, through negotiations and certainly not by war, death and destruction. No, the USA citizen wants a war, or a piece of Greenland or a piece of Taiwan? The policy actions must reflect the views of the people. As a superpower, the USA must exercise restraint and demonstrate political maturity.
Pakistan thus far has handled the crisis with a flair for political maturity hitherto unseen. While we can bask in the glory of being trusted (truthful partner) to the warring parties much to the chagrin of New Delhi, we must, however, remain cognizant of what Nkrumah had said: the grass suffers when two elephants fight. Our mediation efforts are likely to usher peace. With China, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world backing the role of Islamabad, it is an opportune moment in history to carve our place in the comity of nations as a peace-maker.
The edifice and raison d’etre of the current war are based on a pack of self-created fears of what doesn’t exist; just as they went inside Iraq to find the imaginary ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and found ‘nothing’. The basis of the war in the Middle East is solid falsehood. It is a consequence of Israeli intransigence and the evil mind of Netanyahu.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
The writer is a Senior Banker & Freelance Contributor
Comments