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| No room for doubt and division |
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Kamila Hyat
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor
The suicide bombing at the Marriott has left behind a cloud of fear and outrage that still lingers everywhere. But it would be naïve to believe these sentiments are universal.
Eyewitnesses in Lahore have spoken of chilling scenes, as turbaned madressah pupils cheered the success of the 'mission' outside a mosque. There is no evidence that these teenagers were linked to an extremist outfit. Indeed, they appeared to be enrolled at an ordinary madressah institution, one of the hundreds that operate in the city. But quite clearly their mindset is well-established. It is one shared with many others in the country, to one extent or the other, and has been skilfully tied in to the sense of injustice created by the grotesque dichotomy in wealth that we today see in society. In the minds of these youngsters, the wealthy are legitimate targets, as are foreigners and representatives of the state.
There are of course many subtleties and many complexities that go beyond this simplistic framework. Everywhere in society, we find ambiguity over the Taliban who now control all seven of our tribal agencies. People in the highest places within the establishment still describe them as 'honourable' people, working for the 'noble' cause. Tales of their bravery, their strength as warriors abound. Some certainly are myths. As a consequence of policies originally imposed by the state through the 1980s, our ability to think clearly has been distorted. This is particularly relevant as far as it applies to the armed forces, now locked in a battle with militants. In the past, there have been questions about both their capability and their commitment.
But there can now no longer be any doubt that the will required to fight the war on terror has to be found. The military and the civilian setup must work together. The government indeed must provide direction, ending the chaotic cycle in which deals with militants have been followed by sporadic offensives to be followed only by new talks. Some of this dialogue has taken place at sites above which the sinister, black flag of Al Qaeda fluttered. The organization, still entrenched in Pakistan's north, has been attempting to carve out a new state, run under 'Shariah' laws, across this stretch of territory. On its websites, the Islamic Republic of Waziristan exists as an entity lying beyond Pakistan. A final balkanization of Pakistan is among its aims. The Pakistan government must develop a coherent partnership with its military to thwart them.
To do this, President Asif Ali Zardari, whose address to parliament was overshadowed by the explosion and the inferno that brought the Marriott crumbling down, will have to move rapidly beyond rhetoric. His strategy must be multi-pronged. The faltering economy needs rescue. The unemployment and deprivation it has brought is directly linked to the growth of terrorism. The tiresome battles with the PML-N that have so far dominated politics over the last six months must give way to some demonstration of the government's ability to perform. So far, few are convinced it will be able to do so. If it is to prove them wrong, the strategy it employs must be home grown.
The tactics used by the US over the past years since 2001 have quite obviously failed. The outgoing Bush administration has nothing more to offer. The flurry of visits to Islamabad and Kabul in recent weeks and the stepped-up assaults across the Pak-Afghan frontier are a sign of its panic. The direction must now come from Islamabad, support can of course be sought from beyond its borders.
The government must also work to undo much of what has been done since 1979. In 1947, only 189 madressahs operated in Pakistan. Today, some estimates place the number at over 40,000. At least 80 function in Islamabad. Even the bloody events at the Lal Masjid last year have not been enough to convince authorities of the need to prevent these institutions from mushrooming. New ones have cropped up since then. Along single streets in Lahore, several madressahs are known to be operating, some based in homes, some in mosques, some in seedy basement.
The situation is the same – or even worse – in smaller towns across the Punjab. Teenagers able to wrest themselves away from the grasp of clerics have reported the constant promotion of 'pro-jihad' views within these seminaries. The few surveys conducted indicate they have succeeded in creating a school of thought that opposes rights for women, believes non-Muslims are unequal citizens and supports war against infidels. These institutions, as breeding grounds for extremism, and as theatres for the deliberate distortion of thought within society, need to be tackled. Musharraf had promised to do so in 2002. We are today paying the price of that failure. That year, there had been two suicide attacks, killing 20 people – nine of them French soldiers. This year there have been at least 29 major suicide bombings, killing more than 500. Almost all the victims were poor Pakistanis.
There must also be an effort to pin-point key recruiting areas and identify those most vulnerable to the men who promise them a gun, military training and a place in Heaven. Such promises are attractive to young men with no hope of employment, no opportunities in life. A 'pie in the sky' is better than no 'roti' at home. A programme to rehabilitate militants inducted in past years must also be initiated. People who know only how to use weapons and inflict death must be offered an education that enables them to develop other skills of greater use to the society they live in.
Today, there is a new tool at the government's disposal. The terrible images from the Marriott came into our living rooms through the many television channels that are now a part of life. As part of a national effort, the government needs to persuade them to join in the battle on terror. Their potential to play a useful part in this is immense. The ambiguity of views within the channels and the hosts means the message sent out is often a mixed one. Like so many others in our society, they are victims of the warped process of thinking imposed on them to protect the interests of rulers.
After the scenes beamed out from Islamabad, there is obviously no further room left for doubt, for a division in thinking. If Pakistan, as a state, is to survive, it will have to overcome the militants. This is possible only if a sense of unity and an urgency of purpose are built. Too much time has already been lost. Indecision and the lack of a coherent strategy have allowed the militants to reach right into the heart of our cities. They must know be prevented from delivering the country, already weakened by its many maladies, a final death blow.
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com
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