Countering the nurseries of jihad
“We attacked the university because this is the place that produces lawyers, military officers, members of the parliament, all of whom challenge Allah’s sovereignty,” said Omar Mansoor, the man said to be the mastermind of attack on Bacha Khan University.
On the death anniversary of Bacha Khan, a prominent Pashtun leader and humanist, four TTP militants attacked Bacha Khan University located in Charsadda district on January 20. 21 people, including an assistant professor, lost their lives in the attack.
“We have gathered almost all relevant data on who they (attackers) were, from where they came and who supported them,” said DG ISPR General Asim Bajwa.
“The terrorists were continuously conversing on their mobile phones, two of which we have recovered and collected data from them,” he added.
People from all walks of life condemned the incident, terming it ‘cowardly’.
Putting blame on India, CM KPK, Pervez Khattak said, “Time has arrived for the federal government to raise the issue of terrorism at the international level and categorically ask India and Afghanistan to take steps for ceasing infiltration of terrorists in Pakistan,” reported Pakistan Today.
Many journalists also jumped on the bandwagon of blaming India for the attack.
Talat Hussain, a prominent journalist and TV anchor, tweeted, “Are these attacks the ‘pain’ that Indian defence minister had threatened Pak with? The 2 Sharifs should know but they r too busy being International Diplomats”.
Even Ansar Abbasi, who famously holds the apologist’s stance for TTP, tweeted, “Hope Bacha Khan University attack is not Ajit Doval’s “defensive offence” against Pakistan.”
“Our Desi liberals would never believe that India is supporting TTP to destabilise Pakistan,” he added.
On the death anniversary of Bacha Khan, a prominent Pashtun leader and humanist, four TTP militants attacked Bacha Khan University located in Charsadda district on January 20. 21 people, including an assistant professor, lost their lives in the attack
Many in journalistic circles asked hard, valid questions.
“All those who were against use of force, considered Taliban as “Misguided Brothers”, negotiation, are now saying that RAW is supporting TTP,” Brigadier Asad Munir, a former ISI officer, tweeted.
“In 2011, once the army hinted at conducting an operation in North Waziristan, Chaudhry Nisar warned that we will never allow this operation which is being conducted on behest of US,” Munir reminded of the current interior minister.
After every attack in Pakistan, a certain section in electronic and social media starts blaming it on RAW and NDS. The state of denial which has long haunted us refuses to go away as our leaders are reluctant to call a spade a spade.
Instead of baseless allegations, we, as a nation must ask genuine and valid questions from both the civilian and military leadership.
After every attack, ISPR boasts of the army’s quick response and claims are made the terrorists have been identified and will be taken care of. Every now and then it is claimed in the press releases by ISPR that the army has broken the backbone of terrorists and that phenomenal success has been achieved only until the next attack.
Military courts were set up on the demand of the army and many terrorists have been hanged based on their verdicts but what was the outcome?
Rangers were given full control of Karachi but instead of focusing solely on terrorism, which happens to be our main issues, more emphasis has been given on victimising political parties. Their leaders are being arrested and charged for corruption, instead of Rangers concentrating on eradicating the menace of terrorism from the city.
Khalid Munir, a former army officer and columnist, asserts the same. “They have been nabbing political figures through the Anti-Terrorism Act. Everyone knows who terrorists are, so the state must focus on that,” he said.
Gen Bajwa claimed that the terrorists were conversing through Afghan SIMs but PTA had discontinued the roaming of Afghan SIMs in June last year. Has PTA being dysfunctional or is it a cover-up – the question must be answered.
The civilian government must also be held accountable. The interior minister, standing on the floor of National Assembly, said that there was no case registered against Mullah Aziz of Lal Masjid fame. There have been several cases registered against him and the proof was sent to every member of the National Assembly by a social activist, Jibran Nasir.
The National Counter Terrorism Authority, NACTA, which was supposed to bring all agencies under one umbrella to improve the coordination between them, remains dysfunctional despite all the claims by the government.
The ideological fronts of these terrorists, the madrassas, still remain at large with no real steps take to regulate them. The government, fearing a backlash from religio-political parties, has been reluctant to take any action against them.
The progress of NAP must be reviewed thoroughly and the loopholes identified. The first step in the right direction is to counter the ideology that creates monsters like Omar Mansoor
Hizbul Mujahideen leader Sayeed Salahudeen warned Pakistan of consequences in case of a crackdown. “We are at a loss to understand whether they (the government) are concerned about the interests of the country that feeds them or that of its enemy?” he asked. He heads the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organisation of groups fighting in Kashmir. UJC accepted the responsibility for the Pathankot attack and now fears backlash from the Pakistani government.
JI aligns with Hizb, which staged a protest against Modi over his Lahore visit – attended by Siraj-ul-Haq. It is time to ask JI where its loyalties lie and most importantly if the state is ready to take action against such non-state, relatively friendly actors?
The progress of NAP must be reviewed thoroughly and the loopholes identified. The first step in the right direction is to counter the ideology that creates monsters like Omar Mansoor.
“The government must not be afraid. Many feared backlash after Zarb-e-Azb but it wasn’t as much as we expected. The government must take across-the-board action against these nurseries of jihad, without any fear of backlash because it now or never,” asserted Khalid Munir.
This was such a horrible act of mass homicide. Chemistry professor Hamid Hussain was a hero in sacrificing his life in order to allow his students the time to escape from the hands of these barbarians. Each university in Pakistan should have a detachment of military stationed on campus, perhaps as part of an ROTC-like curriculum as on select American college campuses. God bless the martyrs of Pakistan University.
Time is ripe to get rid of people who cannot stop terrorism , get rid off the protectors who cannot protect.
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