Adil Najam
The news is developing by the moment. But the bottom-line is clear. The security forces have taken control of the Lal Masjid from militants after a severe gun-battle. But the story is far from over.
It will continue to unfold. There are too many unanswered questions. They will certainly be asked and discussed threadbare; here at ATP and elsewhere. But the real story of tomorrow remains the same as the real story of yesterday. Can a society that is so deeply divided against itself learn the lessons of tolerance? This question will continue to haunt us well into the future, in multiple shapes, in multiple forms, in multiple contexts.
This is a question that we at ATP have confronted from our very beginning and will continue to confront. But now is not the time to ponder on this. Even though what has happened had become inevitable over the last many days, I am too heartbroken to be able to do so.
Right now I can think only of Muzammil Shah (photo, from Associated Press, above). This photo was taken as he waited for his son who was inside the Lal Masjid. I do not know whether his son was there voluntarily, or as hostage. But I do know what the look of Muzammil Shah’s face means. The more important question is whether his son came out alive or not. I pray that he did.
Analysts – me included – will discuss what happened at length. They will try to understand the meaning of all this. What does this mean for Pakistan politics? What does this mean for Gen. Musharraf’s future? What does this mean for Islam? For Democracy? Does the fault lie with Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his militant supporters for creating a situation that could only end this way? Why did he not surrender? Is the blood of everyone who died not on his head for his stubboness and arrogance? Or, maybe, it is the government that is to blame because it did not act earlier? Act differently? Waited just a few days more for a negotiated solution?
Right now all these questions seem really petty and small. This is not the time for scoring cheap political points. This is not the time for spin.
Moreover, there are too many questions to ask. To answer. The head hurts as you think of them. But the heart hurts even more as you look at the face of Muzammil Shah.
Maybe the only really important question is the one that you can read between his wrinkles: “Why? Oh God, why? Why must things happen this way?”
It is rather unfortunate. There is plenty to indulge in a blame game however in these solemn and somber moments let us hope and pray for those who will never know if the cause they pursued was worth their lives, and for the comfort of the kins they left behind to mourn.
Guardian has a map of the Lal Masjid operations at http://www.guardian.co.uk/graphic/0,,2118376,00.ht ml
For the entire nation it is time for deeper introspection.
I read this morning that a nine hour negotiation failed and that the army raided the compound.
This mullah has a “martyrdom complex” these idiots think that they are going to heaven because THEY think so. The final judgement (in which they should believe, if they are Muslims) is up to Almighty Allah.
They are not going to heaven because they themselves have justified it.
What about those innocent children (students) that were held hostage?
What about the pain inflicted on the families of those children?
These mullahas nothing but murderous psychopaths.
If they are found alive in this rubble, they should be tried for treason and mass murder and then they should be hanged in a public square.
How in the heck did these “men of god” accumulate so many weapons in the House of God?
Is there a verse in Quran or an Hadith that I may have missed that allows us to pile up arms in the House of God? Mosques, Schools, Ones House are the ultimate sanctuaries. Not war zones.
The mullah and the leaders of this mosque must be condemned and the government leaders that allowed these murderers to flourish few blocks away from the Parliament must be investigated.
Sorry, I got carried away. I am sick and tired of these self righteous religious leaders who have hijacked my religion and are being allowed to spout hate.
May they all burn in Hell!!!!
Toady I feel ashamed of our Armed Forces, they showed no mercy and to score some points with western powers killed their own people including women and children in cold blood. Musharraf had a lot of support when he challanged the two brothers but he ended up losing all the support by brutally ending the drama. There were serious negotiations and it seemed that there will be a peaceful end to the fiasco but the government was using talks as a ploy to gain time, they never had any intention of resolving the issue peacefully. The government should have declared victory after the arrest of maulana Aziz in humiliating circumstances instead of prolonging the issue and causing a stiffer response from those in the masjid.
I am afraid there will be very far reaching and horrendous repercussions from this blotched operation but who cares as long as Musharraf can prolong his rule everything is in national interest. Our army was supposed to protect us from our enemies and time and again it has been used against our own people.The picture truly reflects the sentiments of most of the pakistanis at the deaths of innocent students and our jawans.
Assalamau Laikum,
How many more mullah/madrassa will Mushi have to after? There are over 20,000 of them.
After this, I would like to see the best scholars get together and put together a workable shariat package and take it to Hukamat. Let’s phas it in over several years, checking and monitoring, to see what works and what does not.
This is the only way forward to avoid have this situation in many other madrassa.
Why the hell did they let the situation escalate to this point?
Media reports that the militants inside were armed with rocket launchers and automatic rifles! All this in Islamabad without the knowledge of the intelligence? Hard to believe really.
If the number of civilian casualties rise, the opposition is surely going to try and gain mileage from this. And in this light, what was the stance of the opposition regarding the Lal Masjid standoff before ‘Operation Silence’ began?