The news that around 9000 children have resumed their educational activities in the Orakzai agency where militants had targeted a large number of schools and colleges indicates that the Pakistani people have proved to be absolutely resilient and that the pursuit of knowledge is much greater than any suppressive force.
This eloquently articulates the hope, courage and spirit of the young girls and boys who have envisioned wondrous dreams for their future.
It clearly dispels and dismantles the cleverly fabricated perception that is being propagated the world over of Pashtun youth training as would-be-suicide-bombers through a recently released 84 seconds video on Youtube that paints a dismal picture of tribal children role playing the last farewell of a suicide bomber.
Apparently, the restoration of law and order in a majority of the post-operation areas, a fact that can be confirmed by the initiation of tourist galas and festivals in Peshawar, Swat, and Malam Jabba, has brought normalcy back into the lives of people.
Similarly, the launching of a plantation campaign for the upcoming spring by students of Orakzai and the Levies is a clear signal that the people have denounced terrorism in all its forms and manifestations to move towards a new beginning where spring is in the air.
HABIBA YOUNIS
Rawalpindi
