A clear target

Time to trump these terrorists

Eid Mubarak. If it hadn’t been another controversy, it would have been just another uneventful Eid. So we had our bit of this and a bit of that. Plus of course the added unusual “Eidi” of having cell phones shut off for 12 hours or whatever. I enjoyed the peace in fact. Thoroughly.

Sarcasm aside, the dastardly (running out of adjectives) attack on the Kamra Airbase is another clear illustration of the fact that this war is, in fact, ours. That the PAF was fully prepared and intel had worked is highly commendable especially after the Mehran base disaster. I believe the time has come for all the apologists to take a hike. Rhetoric to harness votes that damage the country is unforgivable. If this is all that they have to win the vote then Pakistan should take serious heed of their limitations and not be driven by misguided populism.

In fact, it’s time to pull off the gloves and go hell for leather for the source bent on destroying this nation in one garb or another. For too long, I for one, have used the ‘perhaps’ and ‘maybe’ in order to keep a rein on real thoughts. The subtlety has fallen on deaf ears, as will this, but at least I will feel the release.

With what’s happening and the increased threat, does it really matter what boots are on the ground as long as this insanity is brought to an end. It is a question of mustering all resources at hand and assistance available to grab the bull by the horns and see this saga through to the much-needed conclusion. Otherwise, it’s going to be Afghanistan-like destruction: years of strife without an iota of real development. Frankly, right now it is a case of “Nero fiddling while Rome burns”. Who cares how the terrorism in Pakistan comes to an end. It’s the end not the means we should be discussing.

I was delighted this week to read a few articles finally castigating the apologists and urging recognition of the fact that this war is ours. Important writers and opinion makers unequivocally projecting this thought will at least compel the intelligentsia, Mr Jinnah’s avowed constituency, to start thinking aloud. Naming those politicians embedded in apologist mode will at least let them know they are finally being exposed without the usual mollycoddling. It is also time to take to task those anchors pursuing this route and rousing the rabble against coherent thought.

“It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has produced in society. When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.” — Thomas Paine — (1737-1809)

Like it or not, it’s a ‘now or never’ crossroads we’ve arrived at. Sit in fear and allow a small but dangerously armed and well-engineered band of terrorists to slowly but surely subjugate the masses and ignite a civil war or join hands, or be unified in purpose and bring the war to these elements is the choice we face. If we possess the moral courage, and our would-be leadership extends their hand to the current leadership in unconditional support of the single objective and the armed forces provide the thrust, we will succeed. Let there be no two views on that.

It is this continuous struggle to bring the administration down, the numerous attempts to topple it through dubious means, even if those means are being encouraged by the apex court, that have created weak governance and delivery. The focus and concentration has had to be elsewhere. Sure, there are matters that demand the attention of the court which involve alleged administrative misdemeanors, but blatant violation is inexplicable and the intention definitely questionable.

The CJ of the Sindh High Court ordered the release of 700 motorcyclists picked up for violating the pillion ban prior to Eid, apparently without any process being followed whatsoever or so one reads in the press. Did this transgress jurisdiction? Doesn’t the process include a magistrate who deals with these matters? Let me tell you the result. Thousands of these raving motorcyclists have ravaged the city in the last two days, sans helmets or any other protection, weaving and bobbing like lunatics through traffic. I got my chance yesterday when at the Clifton underpass two sheepish idiots were laying on the ground under their vehicle. Driving by, I slowed and said in Urdu, looking into their darting eyes, “now will you wear a helmet”. But will they? No they won’t because the courts will not uphold the laws that prevail. Justice to the state will have been denied.

So in a country where laws are selectively applied and application thereof is similarly prioritized – instead of targeting murderers and barbaric elements threatening to mar peace even during religious prayers, the “people must become its safe depositories”.

Pakistan, today demands moral courage within its leadership, civil and military, in removing any obstacles that prevent it from taking steps to save this country and restore its balance. It must do so without looking over its shoulders and with clear vision and thought. The target is squarely between the eyes of those trying to destroy it. Pakistan needs to take that one shot and make it count.