Terrorists know the value of our blood more than us

By Syeda Mazhar

Grief. Pain. Anger. Fear. Disgust. Words cannot encapsulate the myriad of emotions the nation experiences after the dastardly attacks of terrorism in our country. Be it the dark episode of 6.5 hours in Peshawar, Army Public School that, took more than 140 lives, the recent bombing of a mosque in Shikarpur or the attacks on Jammat khana in Karachi. We witnessed veritable incapacity of the state. Despite the increasing efforts made by the government, the frequency of attacks is increasing. Memorandums and continuous meeting account of nothing when the terrorists are always a step ahead. They are still attacking us with unprecedented temerity. Massacre is common.

Muslims find themselves at the receiving end and the firing end and, in the midst of it all. They are dying because they are 'enemies of Islam', they are being killed in the west because they engage in 'stealth jihad' to subjugate and they are collateral damage. For how long are we expected to stay silent?
Pakistan came to a standstill as the ugliness of the fact became clear after Peshawar attack. The war is no longer limited to the battlefield. Clarity depicts that we no longer have the luxury of fighting conventional warfare. The militant wings target the civilians, worse yet children; and they ruefully justify these killings. The idea is nauseating; the blood of Pakistan's future being spilled and rationalized. Not only the carnage continues, the Taliban have very shrewdly disguised themselves within the masses. Making it even harder to identify and eliminate the enemy. 

The two new events after the announcement of the National Action Plan, highlights the juxtapositions and the disparity between the ideology of Islam and terrorism. While the militants are still attacking us with unprecedented temerity, 20,000 Islamic scholars condemn the acts of terrorism and declare murder as one of the 'GunaheKabira' gravest sin. Islam stands on the ideology that taking of a human life unjustly equated to killing all of humanity and anyone who does it will incur the wrath of Allah. 

Recent bombing of mosques in Shikarpur and Peshawar, absolute in its emphasis, indicate that the terrorists will not abide to the conventions and will not respect the Muslim sanctuary, in other words "the house of God". Terrorizing people and discouraging them from going to mosques makes us question their faith. For even in their most distorted version of Islam, the basic principles of Quran and Sunnah impart covenant of peace. The teachings are explicit in their prohibition of any form of injustice including that of wanton violence which seeks to instill fear, injury or death to civilians. Mercy is at the heart of Islamic call.
Unfortunately the militant wings have too many acolytes and brain washed followers ready to kill and get killed. In contrast, the government has lost credibility due to corruption and maladministration, and courage and commitment of functionaries have suffered erosion. Few of those who promise reforms bring requisite credentials and reputation.

The never ending list accentuating potency of incapacity of our state had a recent addition. A report with the brief of fixing the responsibility of the Army Public School massacre was demanded within three days of the event. However, it took over two months to be delivered to the KPK Chief Minister, Pervez Khattak. Moreover, it failed to hold any of accountable of neglect leading to the carnage. Given the contents one has to wonder at the point of the exercise anyway.
Our blood is treasured more by our killers than by our state. The leadership talks about eradicating terrorism from our soil and then the very next moment talk about joining hands with Indian leadership for an economic prosperity. It is being conveniently ignored that marked escalation of brutality of the 'Jihadist' can be credited to the Indians along with the TTP assets hiding in Afghanistan. Time and time again, the evidence shows that the TTP is guided, funded and protected by its foreign masters. The Indian advantage, it is believed that in order to keep Pakistan busy with skirmishes on the eastern border to distract them from the war on its western frontier and the terrorism within. So if the economic prosperity of Pakistan is linked to Indian economic affluence, then the food we eat is tainted with the blood of our children. The political echelons are leading the country from chaos to apathy and confusion. How are we supposed to interpret the government's actions and their rhetoric of eliminating terrorism?
The new government cannot be expected to ensure a quick fix. But it can promptly task security experts to formulate extrication strategies in addition to the ongoing ZarbeAzb. The Army chief has done well to pull Army out of politics and reassembled them to fight the growing roots of Taliban. The resolve to root out the menace is absolute. Statistics show that the Pakistan Army has successfully been able to eliminate over 1200 militants in Operation ZarbeAzb, along with several hideouts and weapon factories were destroyed in offensive. Another operation in Khyber Agency was carried out to target the militants who managed to escape the region. The PM Nawaz Sharif applauds the efforts of the Army and said that this operation has and will contribute further towards ensuring peace in the region.

However, despite the optimism, the government does fall short in establishing a secure state. The half hearted attempts by the officials and the law enforcers are apparent. Chorus of condemnation are heard without any substantial counternarrative established. The lack of proper understanding of the problem or the religion causes the various distorted beliefs to be born and with them the human reasoning perishes.

The tyranny keeps increasing. The survivors narrate stories of death, bullets and suicide bombers with expressionless faces. There is numbness in this recitation, tears run and dry. For a nation that has learned to move on quickly, this war has proven to be extremely trying.