More action than words needed
Political exigencies have been a major hurdle in the fight against terrorism. Governments hesitated to take action against banned outfits which helped them in winning the elections. A chief minister appealed to TTP not to destabilise his government through terrorist attacks as he too was opposed to foreign powers that the terrorists were fighting against. Opportunism on the part of Gen Pervez Musharraf and the politicians helped terrorist networks strike roots in urban centres. The MQM which was widely accused of resorting to violence was courted to extend influence in urban Sindh.
Under the circumstances it is heartening to hear from Information Minister Pervez Rashid that his party did not believe in politics of expediency and would not yield to any political pressure vis-a-vis Karachi operation. Rashid has further maintained that nobody would be allowed to indulge in criminal activities on the pretext of religion or politics and that a criminal would be treated as such whether he was in a seminary or inside a political party’s office. Brave words these; however, one expects them to be followed by action.
The Interior Minister is on record having claimed that 90 per cent of seminaries did not support terrorism. The remaining ten per cent comprise hundreds of madrassas. It is easier to launch a search operation inside the offices of a political party known for patronising target killers than to arrest terrorists from seminaries with Arabic names. Reports appearing in national press last year named seminaries inside Islamabad which were assisting TTP with the collection of extortion and ransom money and providing courier services to it by transporting the funds to pre-determined locations easily accessible to TTP. Another report talked about seminaries and worship places used by the TTP terrorists for lodging and sheltering. Lack of proper action against certain networks and individuals is already compromising Pakistan’s credibility among the international community. The information minister has to realise that real action on the part of the government will speak louder than mere words.