Over 21 innocent students and a professor were brutally murdered by terrorists in Charsadda Bacha Khan University. Who will shed a tear for them other than their parents, siblings and next of kin? Would the PM not have dashed back to Pakistan if God forbid this was one of his own children?
If President Obama, the most powerful elected leader in the world, can shed a tear in memory of victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School while addressing issue of gun control in America, what stops our ruling elite and establishment from doing same? Mere condemnations, days of mourning and promises of crushing those responsible would not resolve this grave crisis unless there is will, translated into action with zero tolerance for any private militias or criminals, whatever their affiliations.
This disconnect, between people and ruling elite, is becoming wider. It is time we stopped blaming our known enemies for killings, which they fund and start facing ugly reality that some of our own citizens are being brainwashed within our country with a distorted version of Islam and trained to unleash these horrors. Our enemies will continue to exploit loopholes that corruption and greed offers.
It was in 80’s when factories of mercenary jihadists were allowed to be created in Pakistan and those responsible minted billions from this ugly brutality that would unleash terror on citizens of Pakistan. Men like Ziaul Haq, Akhtar Abdur Rahman, Hameed Gull and politicians and bureaucrats who were their partners were villains, who did not deserve honorable burials. We failed to forfeit billions that were made by these merchants of death and deceit, most of it conveniently transferred to foreign safe havens and even today those who benefit from criminal economy are allowed to get away Scot-free. Unless this institutionalized money laundering is not eliminated and those thriving from criminal economy not given exemplary punishments, crime and terrorism will continue to haunt us. It is we who must put our own house in order and stop allowing ourselves to be used for proxy wars. Our sole strategic assets should only be our armed forces, military hardware and state infrastructure, not any private militia.
ALI MALIK
Lahore