#PeshawarAttack - Have we woken up this time?

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By Hina Mahar Nadeem

“Haven’t you serrated what happened yesterday?!” saying this my mother sent me back to bed. Not only mines but my classmates’ mothers too refused to send their children to university on 17th December. In the evening, however, we all got texts that winter vacations have been announced, but for the very 1st time we all are not jocund. These aren’t for R & R, but owing to terror-threats.

Peshawar siege – unforgettable & unforgivable. The wounds of which will remain fresh even after decades. Dressed in Pakistan’s flag’s colours – white & green , having dreams in their eyes to do something for their nation, students of Army Public school Peshawar, on 16th December, went to their school to give their last exam. Within an hour, the school was turned into a graveyard. 143 “smallest” coffins and continuous roars of bullets in a school not only aghast and devastated PAK-ser-Za-mein but all of the world. 2 minute silence in Rok Sabha, vigil in all schools, #IndiaWithPakistan solidarity messages on social media – this is how India showed its support. In  Turkey, flags were flown at half-mast and national day of mourning was observed. Pope Francis, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Obama, President Rouhani, PM David Cameron, PM Shinzo Abe – all solidly supported this grieved nation in the tough time. Afghan Talibans and many other groups of the militants condemned it too. This attack was so macabre, vicious and odious that it has left Fazullah alone.

The 143 smallest coffins – the heaviest – however brought our political leadership together. They ( once again ) did APC, lifted ban on death penalty, and formed a committee which has to present a report in 7 days. 4th day today, and it hasn’t even met yet. God knows what wonder it will do in next 3 days.

But is just this “unban” and and a committee enough? Unfortunately and definitely, no, until we have the militants’ apologists in our judiciary. We should not forget that 1 of them fled 2k terrorists, but no one till this date has asked him “WHY”. What if even after death penalty, this “trend” among our judiciary will continue? No doubt, we won’t have been protesting in front of the Abpara police station for the registration of FIR against Abdul Aziz, we won’t have been shouting to take Mumtaz Qadri to the gallows, we won’t have been decrying our “Azadi media” for not being gutsy enough to do even a-minute-coverage of AWAMI dharna against an TTP’s apologists instead of airing him, had we stood with 26 year old BILAWAL when he announced WAR against the militants and their apologists in our politics, judiciary, media. We would have been succeeded in eliminating these monsters by eliminating their “well wisher” among us by now.

We all have been taught to not “celebrate” anyone’s death. But what if it’s about someone who did attack on the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi, Marriott Peshawar, Sri Lanka’s cricket team while its visit to Pakistan, & tried to kill the head of the state?! So hard to believe that the militants, Dr. Usman and Arshad Mehmood, who did all this and killed many were in
our jails for years. Should have been punished long before, but finally got what they deserved on Friday’s night. This fight-back was necessary to tell the militants that we will not remain clammed up when it will come to our future, our children.

I do know when mothers chanting Labaik-Ya-Hussain ( R.A ) with the dead bodies of their children protested for 2 days at Quetta’s Alamdar road, when Rida got snatched from his Ibtihjad, when young Fiza in the “hub of justice” was shot dead by the militants, when the innocent children of the heart of Karachi, Lyari, got killed while playing football, when a  bus of the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University got blasted & 45 daughters of this soil got killed, when Gul Makae of Swat got shot, when 15 year old Aitzaz Hassan made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children, we all said this nation has woken up. But, after a few days, again went to sleep. Now again we have woken up. Hope this time we REALLY have. After this tragedy, by standing together, Awam, army and politicians have already given a loud and strong message to the militants that;

MARSOO MARSOO PAKISTAN NA DAYSO!!!

We’ll have to act enough so that no child of this mother-land will ever have to go through from what those 143 innocents went.