The cold winter morning of December 16 turned out to be the coldest mourning day for Pakistanis and the world. Pakistanis were plunged into utter shock and dismay. The bloodbath that took place in the army school was the first of its kind in the turbulent history of the country.
The continuous killings and violence has actually shaken the very existence of the state. There seems to be no end to these senseless atrocities and elimination attempts by splinter groups spread all over the country.
December 16, the happiest day for all Bangladeshis, began with the usual mix of fun and tears. On this day, in 1971, we achieved victory against the Pakistani occupation forces. Since then we have been celebrating our victory day with growing enthusiasm and a renewed pledge to fight the forces of occupation and subjugation.
While we began the celebration of freedom, thousands of miles away in the West, the flowers of heaven were trampled by assailants in a school. One by one, from the youngest to 15-year-olds, children were brought down by a hail of bullets.
The indiscriminate murder by the masquerading squad turned the school premises into a gory ground of heartlessness. In a moment, the blessed lives of the young and sinless were snatched; their sweet voices muted and their vision darkened.
Many future reformers, poets, writers, scientists, and philosophers were killed before their time. What was their fault? Nothing. They were targets of vengeance. The Taliban has set out to retaliate against the deaths of their people, who they claim, have been massacred by the Pakistan army.
The angst and hatred have reached such depths that the Taliban would kill the most vulnerable groups of the society, if need be – soft targets are easy to strike. They are a misguided and unethical lot who could not muster the potency to fight the regular forces of any country.
They have made religion their springboard. They claim themselves to be Muslims and dream of “pure” Islamic rule, but they have failed to grasp the inner meaning of the messages of Islam. Their hardline understanding and interpretations of the Qur’an and Hadith has left peace efforts in shambles.
Reports of condemnation have been streaming in from all quarters, even from their own camps. The force which so determinedly rose to fight the foreign forces in Afghanistan, and later spread in neighbouring areas, have no sympathisers now.
They were provided with all sorts of power to fight their enemies. The constant supply of arms and gradual rise in the number of forces joining their ranks from all over, gave hope to those who sincerely wanted a region and a state free from the domination of the West.
Gradually, the masterminds in the West and the region intruded their ranks and promoted terrorism, turning them into mindless rebels. Weird political mantras worsened the situation.
Peace was the last thing that the masters wanted. They needed a fighting ground as the arms manufacturers and dealers were minting money at the cost of lives and property across the globe. In fact, they are promoting (maybe even sponsoring) the terrorist acts and infighting. The Taliban, and so many others in the world, are only offshoots of these arms promoters.
Now the Taliban have managed to instill fear in everyone. More people will come under attack. The safest citadel in the centre of any city hardly remains safe. After a long interval, Pakistani political leaders sat together to deliberate on the security of the country. They expressed their resolve to face the situation collectively.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called upon all to forget differences in facing the impending threat of the militants. Army Chief Raheel Sharif sprang into action. The insurgents are already on the back-foot.
Militants under captivity are being hanged. Massive executions in jails will start in a few weeks’ time. There will be regular battles in the strongholds of the Taliban and there will be ceaseless offensives by Pakistan. Militants will be flushed out from some areas, but inside the towns and homes, we are likely to lose our dear ones at the hands of the suicide company.
To all, we say, spare the children and the innocent, for God’s sake. If you really believe in God and his commands, show respect to the Prophet who only fought for peace. The Taliban leadership ought to know that Islam doesn’t need them, but to be good Muslims, they need Islam.