Apathy and indifference among us
What the country is going through right now can, in no way, be termed as workable, much less an ideal situation for power transition. It’s not that terrorism is the only scourge that has ever struck us. Sectarianism, violent sectarianism on that, ruled the roost way before the advent of Taliban and Al-Qaeda phenomenon. And with the withdrawal of US forces from the neighbouring Afghanistan drawing close, sectarianism, a problem that had slid behind the much larger issue of international terrorism, will surely stick its ugly head up again, as we are witnessing right now.
Politically, the bloodbath of a particular sect won’t help in maintaining democratic credentials that we crave so much. With 86 innocent Shias killed and their families refusing to bury them, the government not taking any action in addressing their grievances shows the apathetic character that the government and law enforcement agencies have become synonymous to. Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, even though he took his time in reaching Quetta, has refused to see any representative of the protestors, rejecting their demands.
The demands that the protesters have put forth pose a dilemma for the government and the army alike. The provincial government, lacking credibility and trust of both the politicians and the public, has proven to be toothless against the terrorists, militants and nationalists. The federal government is reluctant in accepting their demands as it would be tantamount to inviting the military in political affairs, which the government and most of the politicians in the opposition have been vocal against in the past five years. The military sees this situation as a chance to prove how incompetent politicians are, to which ironically the politicians are actually helping a great deal. The military won’t interfere in the mess created by the civilian setup, unless it absolutely has to.
Publically, the incident has moved thousands of people who have gathered for sit-ins in different cities in a display of solidarity with the Quetta incident victims. Social media is abuzz, print and electronic media seem hyperactive, still there appears to be no attempt at pacifying the protesters, as no credible step has been taken to bring the culprits to justice of this barbarous act. Instead what they seem to be more interested in is how to stop a religious cleric from reaching Islamabad. Understandably, Tahirul Qadri’s million march does pose a security threat; he has a following, a huge one. Add to this his misleading ideology and one can imagine how easily this powder-keg of a situation can blow up to huge proportions.
Mass murders cannot be ignored because they happen to a community that we don’t belong to. Appeasing the victims’ families with hollow promises is not going to help; only concrete steps can abate their pain. The short-term solution requires a crackdown on sectarian militant organisations, intelligence data on whom can be accessed from the security and intelligence agencies; while the long-term solution requires a change in mindset and more inclusive education, particularly religious education, which promotes harmony, peace and trust.
