The suicide attack on a boy’s school in Hangu, should awaken from delusion, those who think Taliban have an agenda of enforcing their version of Islam, having nothing in common with religion espoused by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and Sharia that stresses upon importance of education, tolerance, peace, honesty and condemns use of violence or murder of innocent citizens. There is no doubt, religion has been exploited to recruit Muslim, for inflicting damage to Pakistan, weaken it from within and reduce it to anarchy that exists in Somalia. The agenda seems to be to drag Pakistan into stone ages, render thousands permanently handicapped by opposing polio vaccination and isolate it from international community.
It is an unfortunate reality that our military dictators have exploited religion in past, to perpetuate their illegal hold on power, sow seeds of discord on sectarian, linguistic and ethnic differences, so as to weaken political parties, which may pose a threat to them by launching a nation-wide political struggle to rid this country of martial law. British Raj used this divide and rule policy to prolong their occupation. The demons that we have created, because of our short shortsightedness, have come back to haunt us. What Pakistan needs is political leadership and dedicated security agencies with courage and determination shown by 15-year-old Aitzaz Hassan, who foiled evil designs of suicide bomber intending to blow up a school at peak time with almost 800 students assembled in school.
Pakistan is our geographical identity, created through constitutional struggle, so that Muslim majority could live in peace with members of other faiths, each practicing their religion, yet working together as a nation to achieve economic prosperity, develop human resources through education in science, technology, economics, social sciences, art and culture etc, not to become a state hostage to armed gangs, terrorists, target killers, land grabbers, greed of self seeking politicians and religious fanatics.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
