Adil Najam
Pakistan remains at war. Whether it is schoolgirls in Lower Dir or Shia mourners and those waiting outside Jinnah Hospital in Karachi. All Pakistanis everywhere are targets for these murderous enemies of Pakistan.
It may be true that we do not have many friends abroad. But it is certainly clear that our cruelest enemies are all amongst us.
Day in, day out, they kill and maim and terrorize Pakistanis all across Pakistan. No city is safe. No Pakistani is safe. The ritual is now well entrenched. We mourn our dead. We cry. And just as the tears begin to dry, we are called upon to mourn some more. To cry, again.
The tears are unavoidable, and maybe even necessary. But they are no longer sufficient.
Let us begin, at least, by refusing to tolerate any excuse, any justification, any argument for such violence. Denial must no longer be an option. Yes, there may be forces great and small that are against us. Yes, Pakistanis are being killed also by outsiders too. Yes, the world is an unfair and unjust place. Yes, the wheels of history are complicated. All that, and more, may be as it is. But it is our children who are doing the dying. Everyday. Everywhere.
Those who train themselves to commit such acts – in whose ever name and for whatever purpose they do so – make no excuses for what they do. No excuses must be made for them either.
Let us listen, once again, to how the enemies of Pakistan justify this murder and mayhem:
i pray that we have the courage to stand up to these crimes against humanity.
unbearable, just unbearable. Human life is sacred but not in Pakistan
We are our own enemies.
Our government knows who is behind all these killings but is mysteriously ‘dead’ in pronouncing their names…
It is NOT only the Talibs….It’s the misuse and abuse of the democratic process by the ruling class to prolong their reign!! A two-party system should be introduced in the country to end ethnic and feudal polarization at polls!
Bring good governance, good honest leaders, law and justice to the land, eliminate hypocrisy and falsehood, alleviate poverty, encourage education and zeal to work, etc etc inorder to turn it into a peaceful and prosperous place.
Unless this is done the future of the country will remain dark!
Thanks for saying what needs to be said again and again, Adil. Like you, my anger now spills over from the jihadi groups to those who make excuses for them, and even those who remain quiet about their horrendous crimes. Until the common man realizes and accepts that the real enemy is at home, no progress can be made in creating a safer, more equitable society.
These are the same people who are killing brave Pakistani soldiers! And still people continue to make excuses for them and point fingers elsewhere. It’s shocking, disheartening, and the sheer idiocy of it is mind-boggling!
Yes, words fail to describe the cycles of violence and blasts.
Meanwhile, I was expecting you to do a post on Dr Aafia Siddiqui. But there was nothing after the court verdict.