Peshawar carnage should be the undoing of terrorists
The tragedy that unfolded at the Army Public School in Peshawar on Tuesday was probably an unparalleled enactment of bestiality in the human history involving innocent children, which no religion, dogma and cult permits or approves. Children are said to be personification of God and their safety and well-being invariably gets top priority in any society. Why didn’t the heavens fall and why didn’t the wrath of God descend on the scum of the earth who perpetrated or masterminded this holocaust, only He knows? The people of Pakistan feel to have been stabbed in their hearts. The world is shocked and bewildered over this savagery. But the fact remains that the nation is not overawed by this egregious episode. The government, army and the people despite their bleeding hearts are more determined than ever before to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. These sentiments were adequately reflected in the statements of the prime minister and the COAS. The prime minister expressed his unflinching resolve to continue Zarb-e-Azab and avenge every drop of the spilled blood. The COAS said that the armed forces would chase these beasts to their dens and bring them to justice.
A three-day mourning has been declared to show solidarity with the grief-stricken families, share their pain and agony and to show the world how much we love our children and the hurt we feel as a nation over the loss of the flowers of our garden and those embraced martyrdom along with them on the premises of the school, while on duty. The prime minister called the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and sought his help in dealing with the terrorists and the COAS also dashed to Kabul with the evidence that the Afghan soil was being used for attacks against Pakistan. He shared the classified intelligence with the Afghan President and the ISAF commander which confirmed that the mastermind of the attack was from Afghanistan who was giving directives to the terrorists.
The meetings proved productive and result-oriented as the Afghan president expressed complete solidarity with Pakistan and assured that the Afghan soil would not be allowed to be used for attacks against Pakistan and any Afghan signature found involved would be immediately eliminated. ISAF commander General Joseph Dunford condemned the attack and promised complete cooperation in countering terrorism and security related issues. A request for the extradition of TTP Chief Mullah Fazlullah was also forcefully made by the COAS.
It is an undeniable reality that the TTP terrorists based in Kunar and Nuristan province of Afghanistan have been carrying out cross-border attacks on our security posts and also masterminding terrorist attacks in our cities, especially Peshawar. Regrettably this has been happening with the support and approval of the Karzai government in the past. But with the induction of the new government in Afghanistan, the initiative of the present government to reach out to the Afghan leadership that led to the visit of the Afghan president to Pakistan and as a result of two-week long visit of the COAS to the US, the whole scenario has taken a positive detour.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to give a new direction to their relations, fight the phenomenon of terrorism jointly and also enhance trade relations and promote objectives related to regional connectivity. The US has also consented to launch drone attacks on the TTP leaders based in Afghanistan. Therefore the call to the Afghan president by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the subsequent visit of COAS to Kabul were absolutely essential to achieve the objectives of Zarb-e-Azab by seeking reaffirmation of the cooperation of Afghan government and the US.
There is no denying the fact that terrorism in Pakistan cannot be tackled without the cooperation of the Afghan government and the US forces based there. Now that there is a mutual resolve to eliminate the scourge of terrorism and its inevitability for peace and progress in the two neighbouring countries and the region, it could be hoped that Pakistan would be spared of the threat posed by TTP elements using Afghan soil. Zarb-e-Azab has achieved tremendous success. The entire terrorist infrastructure of the terrorists in North Waziristan has been dismantled and more than ninety per cent area cleared of the terrorists. Plans are already made in motion for the repatriation of the IDPs to their homes in the areas which have been cleared.
The runaway elements of the terrorists who possibly have either crossed over to Afghanistan or have disappeared among the masses throughout the country would surely be hunted down as promised by the COAS. While the security forces and intelligence agencies are relentlessly engaged in thwarting the designs of the terrorists, their complete elimination, particularly of those who are hiding in our cities, will require more vigilance on the part of the whole society. The people will have to be on their guard and report the arrival of any new person in their locality or any suspicious activity noticed by them to the concerned authorities immediately.
As they say every tragedy has a silver lining laced with new opportunities and avenues of not only erasing the bitter memories of the tragedy but also opening new vistas of success. The Peshawar episode has produced the rare national unity to fight against the phenomenon of terrorism. All the political leaders attending the emergency meeting of the parliamentary parties convened by the prime minister have announced their unqualified support to the government in regards to fighting terrorism. Even Imran Khan has announced to end his sit-in and to suspend his anti-government agitation in view of this national tragedy and the need for an impregnable national unity at this time of adversity. He deserves appreciation for the prudence and sense of proportion shown by him.
Terrorism poses an existentialist threat to Pakistan and our way of life. It needs to be confronted with unswerving resolve and unity. Our valiant armed forces are fighting with unruffled commitment against this invisible enemy and have rendered unmatched sacrifices to secure the future of Pakistan. They need undiluted support of the entire nation to complete this task. Perhaps it is also an appropriate occasion to express our gratitude and appreciation for the role that they are playing in fighting terrorism. The sacrifices of the IDPs must also be duly acknowledged and eulogised. At the same time a loud and clear message should go out to the faithless beasts that their machinations would not dent the resolve of the nation to thwart their designs.
