The Scourge of Taliban

Much has been said and written about this relatively newly coined term 'Talibanization', in the context of Pakistan and Karachi itself. The 'Talibans' from Afghanistan have poured in across the border in their hundreds following the US invasion, something which US secretary of state accepted last week in her address along with general attitude towards Pakistan. I think there should be no ways about it, the Taliban have been operating inside Pakistani territory with impunity for far too long and something needs to be done about it.

The Taliban ideology is in many ways similar to the Kharjites - La Hukma Illa Lillah (No Ruler ship except by Allah alone) ideology and represents an extremist view of the religion that defies logic and common sense.

Meanwhile, the government, in its eternal incompetence, knew that there was no semblance of its writ left in certain northern areas of Pakistan but continued to delay when an operation seemed inevitable. And the poor populace (hundreds of thousands!) were the sufferers as they were caught in the crossfire and left with no option but to flee their homes. Can you imagine leaving your homes and everything else behind like that? It is a sacrifice of great magnitude and it is our duty as fellow citizens to help these people in their hour of need.

There are also stories of great personal heroics of Pakistan Army officers. Examples like the one of Major Abid Shaheed and Captain Bilal Shaheed reaffirm our faith in the exceptional ability of our armed forces to get the job done. The public opinion is in their favor and with each terrorist attack that is carried out by the Taliban, the more alienated they become and the sooner, god willing, they will be flushed out. Attacks in Lahore and Peshawar this past week are proof that the Taliban are desperate and retaliating in their own cowardly way.

Again, I agree with Anas when he says that this would have been expected of them and security agencies should have been better prepared and equipped to prevent such attempts. As I said the other day, I have serious doubts whether we will ever be able to rid ourselves from these blasts given the inefficiency with which our police force operates. As Kulsoom pointed out in her post following the Lahore blast, it was third time in three months that Lahore was hit which goes to show that terrorists continue to operate freely inside Pakistan and no major attacks have been averted of late. Can you think of any?

Some time back, I posted about the heinous sectarian violence being committed by the very same Taliban in Kurram Agency, Parachinar in particular. It is high time that this operation is extended towards the areas bordering Afghanistan and all such miscreants are driven out of Parachinar, again, something which should have been dealt with much much earlier. But the menace is here and is spreading out of control and needs to be curtailed right now. There are no 'good' or 'bad' Taliban anymore. Anyone who has the audacity of taking up arms against the state and refuses to come to the negotiation table needs to be dealt with in the most strictest way possible.

Also worth reading is Karachi Khatmal's excellent post on the Taliban.

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.