Military in Pakistan was unfortunately allowed to work outside the fold of any central government for too long and with too much excessive autonomy. This enabled the military to create the new ideological frontier of which the death squads of TPP are an essential part. The guardians of our territorial frontiers were once the creators and guardians of this ideological frontier that has recruited, armed and trained the perverted minds that indulge in violent acts like the one that severely injured Malala.
Who will hold the state accountable for the state patronage that was given to the jihadists in the past? Will those who ran the affairs of the state or the autonomous and powerful institutions within the state be ever considered as criminals who conducted state crimes?
At least two ISI heads in the past, General Javed Nasir and General Hameed Gul, used the agency to support jihadists and militants as part of the state policy. These promoters of great pan-Islamism used and employed jihadists not for geostrategic but for ideological reasons. They promoted Islamic nationalism by utilizing huge funds at their disposal through the dollars stacked in secret ISI accounts that received money both from USA and Saudi Arabia. These generals and many others played a direct role in creating and rehabilitating these Islamist terrorists that have today turned their guns towards our society.
Utilizing power without responsibility the military dictators used the intelligence agency to create this ideological frontier that sponsors the cowards that fired the shots at Malala Aurakzai. We will not be able to defeat the mindset that harbors and flourishes in the ideological frontier by only conducting military operations against its believers but by bringing to justice all those who have in the past played a role in its creation. The leadership that formulated and implemented the policy in the past of supporting, arming and training the Islamic militants to fight proxy wars against India and Afghanistan must be made accountable. If this is not done we will have many more leaders playing with the future of this country leaving Malala, her generation and the generation next to pay the price of their follies.
MUHAMMAD ALI EHSAN
Karachi
