Parachinar Burns!

I had been wanting to do a post about the dire situation prevalent in Parachinar for some time now. Ali Hasnain posted a good blog entry about it the other day, and this is more or less along the same lines of what he said.

First of all, I am shocked and aghast at the lack of coverage given to such a grave situation inside our country. Just doing a query on Google News using the keyword 'parachinar' reveals the amount of killing that has been going on over there - and this is just what is being reported. Sad stories of people's livelihoods being destroyed - like the one on Ali's blog - are surely more common than this news stories would have us believe. People are dying by the scores in an all-out war reminiscent of the stone ages, the only difference is that both sides claim to be "Muslims". Sectarian violence is rife in the Kurram Agency and Parachinar area as the tribes are at each other's throats. Where are the self-proclaimed "Independent" news networks now?! Do they not not consider this news-worthy because it's in a desolate region of the country?! I urge local and international news organizations to do justice to the people of that troubled region and let the world know of the air of inhumanity and sectarian strife that is prevalent over there at the moment. People are being butchered over there every day and nobody seems to give a damn anymore!

A handful of stories have been on the local and international front but certainly not enough. Yesterday, we saw a positive development in the region in the form of a peace jirga. Here's hoping things materialize on that front before the Taliban get a chance to screw things up again. Parachinar and Pakistan's other frontier regions have been the victim of a Taliban insuregency ever since the Americans invaded Afghanistan. The ensuing conflict has literally obliterated the tourism industry of that region, and such beautiful places and others (Swat etc.) have sadly been marred by conflict for months now.

While our leaders are busy flirting with the likes of Palin, things back home are spiraling out of control, the Marriott bombing being the perfect proof of that. If they can hit us in one of the most "secure" areas, then there's no telling what kind of death and destruction they can bring provided they get their hands of bigger, stronger and more advanced explosives, which they seemingly are now getting. The future, in the meantime, does not look bright.