the frontier post
The federal government on Tuesday refused to accept the demand of Shia leadership and Hazara community for army deployment in Quetta on a flimsy, heartless and cruel logic that the Law Minister Farooq H. Naek offered to the press after a meeting between President Asif Zardari and Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani that ‘the situation is not so bad that army should be deployed in the city.’ None can believe his ears and eyes that what Naek was talking about yet the wounded souls of the bereaved families of Quetta blast victims must have digested the cold-hearted, the unsympathetic and the insensitive rhetoric of law expert of the federal government with heavy hearts. If the repeated scenes of hundred bodies kept on the roads with thousands of mourners sitting besides them in rain under the dark chilly sky, books, bags and shoes strewed all over in pools of blood and human organs smashed on the walls around the blast sites do not win sympathetic consideration of the powers-that-be living in calm, comfortable and cozy residences and offices then what else do they want to see to move there the best foot forward to revert the situation prevailing across the country. Today they think it is not enough or it does not warrant the extreme steps like calling in Army revoking Article 245 of the Constitution. On the mass mourning, the gentleman is saying “all is well”. The mourners across the country will bear it the way they bore the loss of their dear ones. For sure, the approach has exposed the mindset of the rulers and particularly their love for the people and rule. Soon after the deadly blast in Quetta, surprisingly the FC received a sudden tip-off about a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi hideout in the suburbs of Quetta and carried out an operation in which four terrorists were killed and seven, including a high value target, were arrested, and media was told some of them were from other provinces. Alas! Once again the people are left to sulking and believe the right or fake claims of otherwise callous, incompetent security agencies acting in haste yet the delayed action against terrorists leaves a question on lack of will of the political leadership to resolve the issue.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik responsible of the security of the country landed in Quetta on Tuesday three days after another mass massacre of Hazaras with a measure that the localities in Quetta having population of ethnic Hazara Shia community will have to be declared as red zone in order to maintain security of the community. The man-who-knows-all-but-do-nothing Rehman Malik reveals there that four months earlier he knew that three banned organizations, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Al-Qaeda, had set up their triangular syndicate and would unleash new wave of bomb blasts to hit their targets. If he does not lie then he must also disclose the name of the leadership that stopped him from taking concert security measures to avoid the repeated genocides taking place in Quetta and Karachi or anywhere else. Unstoppable Malik must tell the nation why not he pounced at the killers at once what he was waiting for, and most importantly why do the states raise herds of security agencies if they cannot be unleashed on the anti-state elements when and where the need arises. Are they here to protect their incompetent but talkative rulers? Today the rulers are well-protected but tomorrow there will be a different ball-game. Apparently, the government’s unwillingness to army deployment lies in the fear of losing more space to the army on national security, which is already dominated by the armed forces. But the point to ponder is if the government is adamant to safeguard itself with such cosmetic measures or believes it can use the deteriorated law and order created by the so-called banned outfit to prolong its rule, the political leadership is grossly mistaken –such strategies have not worked in the past and will not work in future. It must take much-needed bold and harsh decisions to deal with the situation. Pakistan Army, showing a remarkable patience and commitment to their professional duties, has nicely cleaned up Swat and today, its brave and sustained efforts are bearing fruit in the FATA areas where the foreign militants have already vacated their strongholds and the rest are on the run. The case of local militants is no different. The government should impose confidence in the forces endorsing their policy of non-interference in the political affairs of the country. Repeated genocides and thereafter calls for army help from masses echoing across the country can provide enough justification to derail the hard-earned system in the government. The history is there to learn a lesson or two.
The federal government on Tuesday refused to accept the demand of Shia leadership and Hazara community for army deployment in Quetta on a flimsy, heartless and cruel logic that the Law Minister Farooq H. Naek offered to the press after a meeting between President Asif Zardari and Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani that ‘the situation is not so bad that army should be deployed in the city.’ None can believe his ears and eyes that what Naek was talking about yet the wounded souls of the bereaved families of Quetta blast victims must have digested the cold-hearted, the unsympathetic and the insensitive rhetoric of law expert of the federal government with heavy hearts. If the repeated scenes of hundred bodies kept on the roads with thousands of mourners sitting besides them in rain under the dark chilly sky, books, bags and shoes strewed all over in pools of blood and human organs smashed on the walls around the blast sites do not win sympathetic consideration of the powers-that-be living in calm, comfortable and cozy residences and offices then what else do they want to see to move there the best foot forward to revert the situation prevailing across the country. Today they think it is not enough or it does not warrant the extreme steps like calling in Army revoking Article 245 of the Constitution. On the mass mourning, the gentleman is saying “all is well”. The mourners across the country will bear it the way they bore the loss of their dear ones. For sure, the approach has exposed the mindset of the rulers and particularly their love for the people and rule. Soon after the deadly blast in Quetta, surprisingly the FC received a sudden tip-off about a Lashkar-i-Jhangvi hideout in the suburbs of Quetta and carried out an operation in which four terrorists were killed and seven, including a high value target, were arrested, and media was told some of them were from other provinces. Alas! Once again the people are left to sulking and believe the right or fake claims of otherwise callous, incompetent security agencies acting in haste yet the delayed action against terrorists leaves a question on lack of will of the political leadership to resolve the issue.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik responsible of the security of the country landed in Quetta on Tuesday three days after another mass massacre of Hazaras with a measure that the localities in Quetta having population of ethnic Hazara Shia community will have to be declared as red zone in order to maintain security of the community. The man-who-knows-all-but-do-nothing Rehman Malik reveals there that four months earlier he knew that three banned organizations, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Al-Qaeda, had set up their triangular syndicate and would unleash new wave of bomb blasts to hit their targets. If he does not lie then he must also disclose the name of the leadership that stopped him from taking concert security measures to avoid the repeated genocides taking place in Quetta and Karachi or anywhere else. Unstoppable Malik must tell the nation why not he pounced at the killers at once what he was waiting for, and most importantly why do the states raise herds of security agencies if they cannot be unleashed on the anti-state elements when and where the need arises. Are they here to protect their incompetent but talkative rulers? Today the rulers are well-protected but tomorrow there will be a different ball-game. Apparently, the government’s unwillingness to army deployment lies in the fear of losing more space to the army on national security, which is already dominated by the armed forces. But the point to ponder is if the government is adamant to safeguard itself with such cosmetic measures or believes it can use the deteriorated law and order created by the so-called banned outfit to prolong its rule, the political leadership is grossly mistaken –such strategies have not worked in the past and will not work in future. It must take much-needed bold and harsh decisions to deal with the situation. Pakistan Army, showing a remarkable patience and commitment to their professional duties, has nicely cleaned up Swat and today, its brave and sustained efforts are bearing fruit in the FATA areas where the foreign militants have already vacated their strongholds and the rest are on the run. The case of local militants is no different. The government should impose confidence in the forces endorsing their policy of non-interference in the political affairs of the country. Repeated genocides and thereafter calls for army help from masses echoing across the country can provide enough justification to derail the hard-earned system in the government. The history is there to learn a lesson or two.
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