Bilal Abbas

Extremism breeds terrorism. Due to General Ziaul Haq’s Islamisation drive in the 1980s, Pakistan has no dearth of radicals. Problems of poverty, illiteracy, lack of swift justice, and unemployment, among others, serve the purpose of the Taliban when recruiting foot soldiers

Today, Pakistan finds itself at the centre of the global war on terror. The US government believes that Pakistan is the primary place from where terrorism against the West will emanate as the leadership of al Qaeda is allegedly hiding here. It was in 2007, more specifically after the mishandled Lal Masjid operation, that Pakistan went deep into the tunnel of terrorism. At the beginning of 2007, the former government of President Pervez Musharraf declared 2007 as the ‘Visit Pakistan Year’, but the security situation deteriorated to such an extent that by the end of the year it was called the ‘Don’t Visit Pakistan Year’. Before 2007, the total recorded suicide bombings stood at no more than 25. But 2007 spiked this graph with 56 suicide bombings; the most high profile of them being the assassination of former premier Benzair Bhutto. The following years have seen an alarming rise in the number of suicide bombings; 61 were recorded in 2008 and 87 in 2009. These bombings and other terrorist attacks since 2007 have killed more than 3,000 people. It is clear from these statistics that the war in Pakistan is in its initial phase and is escalating at a dangerous pace.

Some sections of the media and the government would have us believe that the current operation in South Waziristan is a decisive battle. With no more than 700 casualties of the enemy reported by the army, the only decisive thing about this battle is that the enemy has sneaked out and lives to fight another day. How else can one explain the disappearance of the ‘25,000’ strong army that Hakeemullah Mehsud boasted about? Or the frequent airstrikes in Orakzai and other agencies of FATA where the army has not gone in before? Security analysts believe that South Waziristan is just the tip of the iceberg and that military victory in the form of controlling all of FATA is unlikely. Therefore, victory in this case would be determined by the removal of religious extremism from its roots in FATA and other settled towns and cities of Pakistan.

Extremism breeds terrorism. Due to General Ziaul Haq’s Islamisation drive in the 1980s, Pakistan has no dearth of radicals. Problems of poverty, illiteracy, lack of swift justice, and unemployment, among others, serve the purpose of the Taliban when recruiting foot soldiers. Another problem is that a number of politicians like Imran Khan and religious parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami do not consider this our war and say that if the government halted its ‘pro-US’ policies, terrorism would disappear. Statements like these confuse the public about which side to be on. It might even be true, but the fact is that even if the government takes a U-turn and signs peace deals with the Taliban, it will only be ceding its authority by capitulating to terror and giving credence to their extremist practices.

Another distressing reality is that no matter how many brutal and devastating attacks take place, the public at large is unmoved. There are no mass peace protests condemning terrorism. The relentless coverage of terrorist attacks in the media has made them a regular affair for the public. In order to mobilise for a cause, people need leaders whom they can follow. President Barack Obama addresses the American public on a weekly basis. Why do our leaders not come out of their fortresses and have a heart to heart with the war-ravaged nation? Why have the Sharif brothers not taken out a Long March in support of eradicating terrorism?

The never-ending obsession of our political leadership with non-issues like the NRO or the 17th Amendment is having a detrimental effect on the internal situation of the country. A wartime cabinet should be working non-stop till it finds a solution or a way out. Instead, this cabinet is interested in everything else but the problems of the people. There is no definite plan on how to eliminate terrorism or what to do with FATA and the terrorists that it is harbouring.

If the government puts its house in order and takes on the problem of terrorism head-on, then there definitely is light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan. The success in Swat from Fazlullah’s Taliban proved that victory is possible. More than two million refugees were displaced by the fighting in Malakand in 2009, but they were supported by an enthusiastic public and its government. The people of Pakistan wholeheartedly supported the army operation and even the media was on board. The military pacified the hostile Swat Valley, sacrificing more than 250 of its soldiers and officers, and in four months the IDPs returned to their homes in a peaceful Swat.

The public has to make a collective effort to extinguish the flames of hatred and extremism from its towns and cities. People should know their neighbours so that the next time terrorists move into a ‘safe house’ in the city, the police can be informed by a vigilant public. The government has to ensure the efficiency of the police so that the people actually start cooperating with them rather than being distrustful of them. At the same time, the government must make economic progress so that issues like unemployment and lack of basic infrastructure do not provide recruits for terrorists and religious extremists.

It is a daunting task but one that has become absolutely necessary because it is, literally, now or never. The maxim that “things get worse before they get better” comes to mind when thinking about Pakistan’s future. Will it get better? A journalist who has spent decades covering politics in Pakistan, commented: “Things always get better. Every country faces tough times, but it comes out strong in the end. We just have to endure and be positive.”

The writer is an undergrad student of journalism and a freelance columnist. He can be reached at brazi_luca@hotmail.com