Pakistan's Christians under attack: Our bloody Sunday

Sunday, September 22, 2013, will certainly stand in history as one of the blackest days for the Christian community in Pakistan, a day on which a minority we as a nation were sworn to protect, was brutally struck down by the dark cloud of militancy that Pakistan has spawned and cannot get rid of. The All Saints Church in Peshawar was the scene of deadly carnage when two suicide bombers detonated themselves during Sunday mass when the house of worship was host to more than 500 faithful. The attack was nothing short of a massacre and was designed so that a maximum number of fatalities would occur. One suicide bomber blew himself up outside the church after the services were over and people were leaving the premises. The other blew himself up inside the church after just 30 seconds. There were body parts strewn around everywhere and the stench of death held heavy and thick in Peshawar that morning. More than 80 have died and over 100 are injured. The fatalities continue to rise because many of the wounded are in dire condition. A relatively lesser-known faction of the Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Jundullah (TTPJ), has come forward to claim responsibility for the deadly attack. Our interior minister has gone on record to say that the TTPJ does not operate on Pakistani soil but then how can he explain this exceptionally well planned strike by this group? The TTPJ militants said they carried out this attack because they want to kill the enemies of Islam; one begs to understand how a peaceful Christian minority can possibly be an enemy to Pakistan or to Islam. More than anything, it seems the terrorists are the real enemies here, butchering innocent people in a bloody quest that cannot be understood by anyone. As can be expected, the Christian community is out on the streets, protesting against this mass murder, venting its anger at the state and the government. We are seeing nationwide protests and some of them are becoming violent, with the protesters pelting stones and lashing out at the government. This is a devastating development because it reveals that we are pushing a once peaceful minority into aggressive mode and the taking up of arms. This will come as no surprise really because the state is spineless and has been unable to protect most of its citizens: the Shias have started arming themselves after constant attacks and so have the Sunni Barelvis, who have both formed militias because the state cannot protect them from those who look to slaughter them. It is only a matter of time before the Christian community, the Ahmedi community and the Hindu and Sikh minorities fight back. Is this what we want, to push our own citizens up against a wall so ugly and bloodied that we become a nation at civil war? It is understandable that the security forces are stretched, what with the insurgency in FATA and routine terror attacks all over the country, but we cannot afford to leave our minorities at the mercy of those who bomb churches, mosques, temples, shrines, schools and markets. The lacklustre performance of the intelligence agencies, the police and the security forces has allowed such massacres to happen all too often. Just this year we lost more than 200 Shia Hazaras to this same sectarian menace. Attacks such as this show that the hopes pinned on the peace talks were just too naïve. We are dealing with monsters that know not the meaning of negotiations. How can the government think that by talking to the TTP, which is the umbrella organisation, it can stop attacks by renegade, autonomous factions of the Taliban like the TTPJ? Even the military seems to be distancing itself from the peace talks. Military operations against this multi-headed hydra is the only option, for the militants are now too many and too far down the road of being rogues. All those in the government who think dialogue is the way towards peace and security are fooling themselves. How can they ever look their citizens, particularly their minorities, in the eye again if they do not take a hard stance on these brutes? Bloody Sunday has sealed the deal. Will the government please stop playing the wimp and protect its people and the nation’s flag that runs red?