The brutal killing of 15 Frontier Constabulary personnel by the Taliban on Thursday can easily be classed one of the most grotesque episode of barbarianism in the history of the long war. This act of brutality, according to the Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman, was executed to avenge the killing of Qari Kamran, who himself had killed scores of Pakistani soldiers. Does the Taliban brand of religion give them the license to kill in such a brutally merciless manner that puts to shame the most ruthless murderers and criminals?
Bodies of the slain soldiers were thrown all over a hill in Mir Ali sub-district with each bearing the torture of multiple bullet injuries speaking of the miserable spell of cruelty and callousness they had lived through. Will there ever be an end to this protracted war that has consumed the precious lives of so many innocent people. How many more sacrifices are expected of us before things start to come back to normal?
Tragic incidents such as this tend to force us to re-evaluate our role in the war that we have been forced to adopt as our own. Why do we have to keep pursuing this fight that seems to have no end at all? Can we say that for whom we took over the war stand with us in it? Apparently not! So why are we allowing ourselves to be used as fodder and continue to be victimised by the Taliban on one end, the so called allies at the other? Will someone finally stand up to say ‘no more’?
PROFESSOR KABIL KHAN
Peshawar