The government should either surrender to terrorists or fight them to the finish; the decision can no longer be delayed. Too many APCs and parliamentary resolutions all couched invariably in appeasing terms, have only emboldened them as their appetite for ever more human blood remains insatiable. When the political leadership across-the-board conceded them, albeit grudgingly, the status of 'stakeholders' in national affairs and invited them to talks, they have obviously taken it as a profound weakness on the part of the government and decided to raise pressure by launching even more barbaric attacks. Having scored a stunning blow to the Pakistan army by murdering an officer of its general staff, they attacked the historic church of Peshawar in Kohati Gate area on Sunday killing over 80 churchgoers and injuring twice that number. And, as if taking human lives is such a gratifying deed they announced their hand in it almost simultaneously. The TTP-affiliated Jundullah has claimed responsibility and promised more such attacks should the CIA-operated drone strikes continue. Obviously, this linkage between the drone strikes and the savagery on the compound of the Peshawar church is bound to complicate Pakistan's stand against the CIA-operated drone attacks at the United Nations. Maybe, in light of this development Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decides not to take it up in his speech to the General Assembly. But at this moment of grim tragedy one's heart goes out to scores of families who lost their dear-ones and near-ones at the hands of brutes. Of the Christian community living in that old locality of Kohati Gate literally not a single family has been spared; there are families whose three to four members have been killed in the carnage wrecked by two suicide-bombers. Given that there were reports of the impending attack on the church and that appropriate security was not ensured the anger of the bereaved families could not be ruled out. The dilemma is that if the preceding ANP-led provincial government lost at the hustings for its 'failure' to curb terrorism the heavy mandate given to the PTI by the residents of Peshawar too is of absolutely no avail. Only a few weeks ago the Taliban carried out a daring D I Khan jailbreak which was not out of the blue; the PTI government was sounded a timely warning.
The attack on the churchgoers in Peshawar is certainly one of the most devastating. But by no means it is very different from many others; in the same city 137 persons, mostly women and children lost their lives in an explosion at Meena Bazar in October 2009 except for the fact that this time around the KP cabinet members and high functionaries were conspicuous by their absence at the scene of the blast after its occurrence. Nor can it be said that war has been declared on the churches in Pakistan - no less devastating attacks have been made on the worship places and shrines of other communities, most frequent target being the Muslims. The terrorists are out to capture power in Pakistan and they would do whatever it takes to win their goal. If terrorists are so much thoughtful about the glory of Islam then they should know that their cowardly attack on the Peshawar churchgoers has done their objective no good; in fact, they have earned alienation and estrangement for the Muslim minorities all over the world. We expect and hope the followers of other faiths will figure out this incident in its realistic setting; it is by no means a 'clash of civilisations'. Equally pressing is the imperative that our leaders reconsider the offer of talks made to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its ilk by the latest APC. Isn't it the TTP, which claimed the responsibility for the attack on Major General Sanaullah Niazi's convoy and the Jundullah that claims its men attacked the Peshawar church, are the 'stakeholders' the government of Pakistan is going to talk to? If these outfits are not the ones that are out to subvert the peace talks then who else is doing it. Imran Khan and some others who say so need to be more specific - for the time to communicate in innuendos has passed. Instead of confused double-speak the leaders must come up with clear, unambiguous assertions and claims, because what the Pakistani people have come face to face is not mere political point-scoring, it is the much-feared existential threat to their national independence. If at all it is accepted that some third party is seeking to spoil the peace talks why then the Taliban own responsibility for deadly attacks. Consider what Dr al-Zawahiri has to say, he says al Qaeda needs Pakistan as a hatchery and a base. Is there then a future for the APC peace initiative?
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Pakistan: Massacre at the church
The government should either surrender to terrorists or fight them to the finish; the decision can no longer be delayed. Too many APCs and parliamentary resolutions all couched invariably in appeasing terms, have only emboldened them as their appetite for ever more human blood remains insatiable. When the political leadership across-the-board conceded them, albeit grudgingly, the status of 'stakeholders' in national affairs and invited them to talks, they have obviously taken it as a profound weakness on the part of the government and decided to raise pressure by launching even more barbaric attacks. Having scored a stunning blow to the Pakistan army by murdering an officer of its general staff, they attacked the historic church of Peshawar in Kohati Gate area on Sunday killing over 80 churchgoers and injuring twice that number. And, as if taking human lives is such a gratifying deed they announced their hand in it almost simultaneously. The TTP-affiliated Jundullah has claimed responsibility and promised more such attacks should the CIA-operated drone strikes continue. Obviously, this linkage between the drone strikes and the savagery on the compound of the Peshawar church is bound to complicate Pakistan's stand against the CIA-operated drone attacks at the United Nations. Maybe, in light of this development Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decides not to take it up in his speech to the General Assembly. But at this moment of grim tragedy one's heart goes out to scores of families who lost their dear-ones and near-ones at the hands of brutes. Of the Christian community living in that old locality of Kohati Gate literally not a single family has been spared; there are families whose three to four members have been killed in the carnage wrecked by two suicide-bombers. Given that there were reports of the impending attack on the church and that appropriate security was not ensured the anger of the bereaved families could not be ruled out. The dilemma is that if the preceding ANP-led provincial government lost at the hustings for its 'failure' to curb terrorism the heavy mandate given to the PTI by the residents of Peshawar too is of absolutely no avail. Only a few weeks ago the Taliban carried out a daring D I Khan jailbreak which was not out of the blue; the PTI government was sounded a timely warning.
The attack on the churchgoers in Peshawar is certainly one of the most devastating. But by no means it is very different from many others; in the same city 137 persons, mostly women and children lost their lives in an explosion at Meena Bazar in October 2009 except for the fact that this time around the KP cabinet members and high functionaries were conspicuous by their absence at the scene of the blast after its occurrence. Nor can it be said that war has been declared on the churches in Pakistan - no less devastating attacks have been made on the worship places and shrines of other communities, most frequent target being the Muslims. The terrorists are out to capture power in Pakistan and they would do whatever it takes to win their goal. If terrorists are so much thoughtful about the glory of Islam then they should know that their cowardly attack on the Peshawar churchgoers has done their objective no good; in fact, they have earned alienation and estrangement for the Muslim minorities all over the world. We expect and hope the followers of other faiths will figure out this incident in its realistic setting; it is by no means a 'clash of civilisations'. Equally pressing is the imperative that our leaders reconsider the offer of talks made to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its ilk by the latest APC. Isn't it the TTP, which claimed the responsibility for the attack on Major General Sanaullah Niazi's convoy and the Jundullah that claims its men attacked the Peshawar church, are the 'stakeholders' the government of Pakistan is going to talk to? If these outfits are not the ones that are out to subvert the peace talks then who else is doing it. Imran Khan and some others who say so need to be more specific - for the time to communicate in innuendos has passed. Instead of confused double-speak the leaders must come up with clear, unambiguous assertions and claims, because what the Pakistani people have come face to face is not mere political point-scoring, it is the much-feared existential threat to their national independence. If at all it is accepted that some third party is seeking to spoil the peace talks why then the Taliban own responsibility for deadly attacks. Consider what Dr al-Zawahiri has to say, he says al Qaeda needs Pakistan as a hatchery and a base. Is there then a future for the APC peace initiative?
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