After a short period of peace in the country, terror has struck again. A senior doctor, belonging to the armed forces was killed in a suicide attack adding to the list of incidents of this post ‘war on terror’ phase. Another police officer has died yesterday when a remote controlled device planted on his car blew up killing him on the spot along with others. The terrorists had perhaps planned another murderous event on the same day when it later transpired that participants in the funeral procession of the police officer were also targeted, which included his family members and other police officials amongst others. More than 50 people are being reported killed or injured as a result.
Terrorism in the form as is being seen in this country cannot claim its affiliation with any religion, least of all Islam. The barbaric nature of the attacks which claims the lives of innocent citizens is to be condemned in the strongest terms. Perhaps out of fear of their own lives or their political standing, the political leaders of this country who claim to lead the religious parties have failed to denunciate these attacks in clear terms. This would serve to embolden the ‘carriers’ or handlers of these terrorist activities who are often brainwashed from their childhood into believing what is taught to them in religious seminaries set up by extremists who seem well equipped in terms of personnel and weapons to achieve their objectives.
One cannot help but ask what allowed this war to be declared on all of us by a breed of people who are willing to die for their beliefs and are used as devices by their masterminds. The absoluteness of the decision to participate in the ‘war on terror’ which included allowing our airspace to be used to eliminate targets in our country provided a fuel to the burning desire of militants to seek political control of the northern parts of this country as well as launch fatal attacks against strategic targets. The goal seems to be to disrupt the state functioning as well as demoralize the people of this country as well as state actors and force them into submission sooner or later. However, the American pressure on us prevents us to think of the war in more broad terms, or to reconsider the tactics to achieve a negotiated solution by engaging the local populace in the war zones.
The absence of an option to negotiate in itself limits our sovereignty in a sovereign country which questions our integrity as a nation. The Americans are least concerned about our interests. This is reflected in their ignorance of any collateral damage which occurs either when an American unmanned spy drone hits a target in South Waziristan or when the Pakistan Army battles out militants and in the process several innocent civilians die for reasons their families would never know. Since no American blood is wasted in this war, there is absolutely no pressure on the White House to seek alternatives to a war at all times and achieve the ultimate goal---elimination of extremism and militancy. It is highly likely that relatives, friends and even locals of the area of all innocent people who die every day as a result of ‘inevitable collateral damage’ are likely to be indifferent to militants, if not sympathetic, and to the extreme methods used by them by each passing day. It is impossible to eliminate extremism without the support of the population which is under control of such elements.
But we are prevented from discussing any other option than eliminating our very own in the process as and how dictated by the Americans. American drones operate freely in this country as if it were a part of California. The only difference is that this time there is a barrage of hell fire missiles whenever they fly by. If this is a sovereign Pakistan then sovereignty needs to be defined again.
It should be interesting to see how the Americans would respond if say what is happening in Pakistan was happening in America instead. What if the Americans had to face suicide attacks in their own territory on a regular basis as it is in Pakistan? What if Americans had no idea whether they would return home safe as it is in many parts of this country and bomb attacks were no longer a rarity a normal event? What if even funeral processions for affectees of terrorist activities were not spared? It is predictable that in such a case, both domestic opinion and U.S. interest would have forced the White House and other power brokers to seek alternatives to an outright war which would include cease fires to control the loss of innocent lives. Negotiations are sometimes not only desirable but the inevitable solutions of conflicts and wars which have no end in sight. This seems to be true in Sri Lanka as well although the war is somewhat different in nature there. The Americans learnt the same in Vietnam. Yet their increasing ability to replicate past mistakes proves that they have learnt nothing from history and continue to use the gun as the only option to satisfy their nemesis of being the world superpower which has the right to do as it pleases without even trying and reaching a consenses on issues, even with its so-called allies.
Terrorism in the form as is being seen in this country cannot claim its affiliation with any religion, least of all Islam. The barbaric nature of the attacks which claims the lives of innocent citizens is to be condemned in the strongest terms. Perhaps out of fear of their own lives or their political standing, the political leaders of this country who claim to lead the religious parties have failed to denunciate these attacks in clear terms. This would serve to embolden the ‘carriers’ or handlers of these terrorist activities who are often brainwashed from their childhood into believing what is taught to them in religious seminaries set up by extremists who seem well equipped in terms of personnel and weapons to achieve their objectives.
One cannot help but ask what allowed this war to be declared on all of us by a breed of people who are willing to die for their beliefs and are used as devices by their masterminds. The absoluteness of the decision to participate in the ‘war on terror’ which included allowing our airspace to be used to eliminate targets in our country provided a fuel to the burning desire of militants to seek political control of the northern parts of this country as well as launch fatal attacks against strategic targets. The goal seems to be to disrupt the state functioning as well as demoralize the people of this country as well as state actors and force them into submission sooner or later. However, the American pressure on us prevents us to think of the war in more broad terms, or to reconsider the tactics to achieve a negotiated solution by engaging the local populace in the war zones.
The absence of an option to negotiate in itself limits our sovereignty in a sovereign country which questions our integrity as a nation. The Americans are least concerned about our interests. This is reflected in their ignorance of any collateral damage which occurs either when an American unmanned spy drone hits a target in South Waziristan or when the Pakistan Army battles out militants and in the process several innocent civilians die for reasons their families would never know. Since no American blood is wasted in this war, there is absolutely no pressure on the White House to seek alternatives to a war at all times and achieve the ultimate goal---elimination of extremism and militancy. It is highly likely that relatives, friends and even locals of the area of all innocent people who die every day as a result of ‘inevitable collateral damage’ are likely to be indifferent to militants, if not sympathetic, and to the extreme methods used by them by each passing day. It is impossible to eliminate extremism without the support of the population which is under control of such elements.
But we are prevented from discussing any other option than eliminating our very own in the process as and how dictated by the Americans. American drones operate freely in this country as if it were a part of California. The only difference is that this time there is a barrage of hell fire missiles whenever they fly by. If this is a sovereign Pakistan then sovereignty needs to be defined again.
It should be interesting to see how the Americans would respond if say what is happening in Pakistan was happening in America instead. What if the Americans had to face suicide attacks in their own territory on a regular basis as it is in Pakistan? What if Americans had no idea whether they would return home safe as it is in many parts of this country and bomb attacks were no longer a rarity a normal event? What if even funeral processions for affectees of terrorist activities were not spared? It is predictable that in such a case, both domestic opinion and U.S. interest would have forced the White House and other power brokers to seek alternatives to an outright war which would include cease fires to control the loss of innocent lives. Negotiations are sometimes not only desirable but the inevitable solutions of conflicts and wars which have no end in sight. This seems to be true in Sri Lanka as well although the war is somewhat different in nature there. The Americans learnt the same in Vietnam. Yet their increasing ability to replicate past mistakes proves that they have learnt nothing from history and continue to use the gun as the only option to satisfy their nemesis of being the world superpower which has the right to do as it pleases without even trying and reaching a consenses on issues, even with its so-called allies.
As all respectful nations, we must act in our own interest and not allow ourselves to be used as mere puppets. Politics apart, continued subversion to the American will without thought about national interest may not necessarily lead to extinction, but can certainly divide and disintegrate a society as Iraq has proved. For the Americans, Pakistan is just another test case as Iraq was yesterday and it would not loose much if turmoil were to increase at an alarming rate as it is now. For us however, we have nothing beyond to look forward to if the final result is catastrophic for the nation. The new political leadership must be free to decide what is best and its mandate must be respected. This is where all hopes that we have lie, not only for democracy but also towards finding solutions to the insecurity of the people of this country as well its integrity in the league of sovereign nations.
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