We need to reorient our mindset
Acts of terrorism have become a routine in the country. So the militants were least concerned about March 23 being a most important milestone in the struggle for the creation of the country. The TTP killed four FC personnel and kidnapped five, presumably in the hope of exchanging them with some of its activist in the custody of the security agencies. In the violence ridden Tirah, one group of militants avowedly fighting for the glory of Islam, killed more than half a dozen activists of a rival militant group which claims it is serving Islam better than anyone else. The bomb attack was conducted right inside a mosque.
Pictures, video clips and reports related to March 23 underscore one of the major reasons behind the promotion of the culture of militancy which continues to fray the social fabric of the Pakistani society. A picture published on the front page of this paper on Saturday shows children dressed in military uniform brandishing toy guns. What one had expected was the images of children celebrating the day with joyful gratitude and vowing to compete with the other countries in the pursuit of knowledge. The picture instead indicates an attempt to promote the cult of the gun during a formative period in the child’s growth. Images of the type create and strengthen in the child a sense of living in a beleaguered national security state. A similar perception was created by the threatening gestures at the ceremony of lowering the flag at Wagah border on the evening of Pakistan Day. Besides cultivating extremist tendencies, images of the sort send a negative message of Pakistan abroad. The same day protestors led by Difae Pakistan Council (DPC) called for public defiance if Parliament was to allow the Nato trucks to operate and raised slogans in support of jihad against the US.
The unending promotion of a militant mindset indicates why terrorist organisations continue to get fresh volunteers for suicide bombing. It is in the vital interest of the state to promote a culture of tolerance and inculcate the desire to turn Pakistan into a modern welfare state rather than a national security state.
