Pakistan Should Launch War to Get Rid of Taliban -- Not Halfway, But Once and for All

Saeed Qureshi

The Taliban attacks on and around the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi once again bring into sharp focus the extreme urgency of an ultimate military action to conclusively wipe out the Taliban cult and other anti-Pakistan religious warriors and thus rid Pakistan of this unremitting scourge and odious, burgeoning menace. After the Mehran Base attack, Karachi once again is gripped by a state of paralysis and mayhem. This ferocious and daredevil attack by these barbarians has again sent shockwaves of panic and fright throughout Pakistan.

If the rulers cannot ensure the safety of the people, then better they resign and quit power. The present government's endeavors to build a bridge of understanding with the Taliban are a mere waste of time. The Taliban, who have scant regard for the sanctity of human lives, do not deserve -- nor should be shown -- any mercy.

The Taliban would never lay down their arms because, in their perverted version of Islam, they prefer to die to hasten their entry into paradise for ideal pleasures and eternal life. They do not understand that Islam and other religions exhort sanctity and safety of human beings in a society.

How long will the political establishments in Pakistan remain aloof and watch with folded hands for the day when these Taliban abandon their murderous creed and become loyal citizens? That day will never come, and it would be an elusive hope for Mian Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) government to keep hoping for a fantasy that will never see the light of the day.

It is high time for the government stalwarts to shake off their complacency and mobilize the armed forces to nab and decimate each and every member of the Taliban cult who are not only the declared enemy of Pakistanis but also of humanity at large. They should stop watching their fellow countrymen being butchered and killed by these human predators who are totally devoid of compassion or basic human feelings for the people of Pakistan.

Such a military action should be constant, coordinated and unstoppable until the last Taliban is finished and the people of Pakistan can feel safe. The pernicious and damaging impact on the economy of Pakistan is colossal and takes time and funds to be recouped. So this futile game of enticing the monsters in the garb of Taliban should now come to an end.

If the government is still reluctant to unleash a ruthless crackdown on Taliban, then let the army on its own volition take this most indispensable onslaught and finish the job of eliminating these latter-day assassins once and for all. Otherwise, Pakistan is doomed and will remain subservient to the killing sprees and criminal and bulging demands of these murderous thugs.

The Taliban militants have also been attacking the military complexes and headquarters with impunity, inflicting heavy losses -- both human casualties and serious blows to military equipment, including blowing up a military aircraft.

Such a military onslaught must not be halted or punctured halfway without rooting out this looming menace destabilizing Pakistan with its orgy of blood and incessant terrorism.

The paramount question is why there should be a soft corner for these brutal and merciless killers when they do not possess an iota of compassion for the innocent people and instead kill and terrorize them and subdue the government to submit to their beastly demands.

The isolated island of a merciless, intolerant and narrow-minded regime that the Taliban want to establish never existed, nor can it function. Such a regime cannot be compatible with the norms of independence, fusion of cultures and integration that is pervading the globe.

So the elements and forces within Pakistan that harbor some kind of sympathy and support for these latter-day Islamic crusaders should rethink their outlook. The Taliban are the product of the last two or three decades.

Let the PMNL government move with an unshakeable resolve and accomplish the indispensable task without further loss of time. Let the government establish the writ of the state of Pakistan.