Do They Really Care Their People?

Eventually, the brutality anniversary of Army Public School (Peshawar) was observed all over Pakistan by federal and provincial governments, armed forces, political parties, media houses and NOG`s. From the political governments to the military establishment, all tried to gain confidence of the victims` parents by expressing solidarity with them. They succeeded in doing so or not, it is questionable. 

Since the 16 December`s massacre, it has been frequently claimed that the Army Public School tragedy has united the nation and now all are on one page against the terrorists. But question is, is it really true? If yes, why did we wait for thousands of dead bodies (especially including of APS kids) to make a decision for a military operation? Should we not have chosen this option much earlier? 

Everybody knows that before the APS tragedy, there had been a clear difference of opinion over how to deal with Taliban terrorists. Pakistani political and religious parties were divided (into right and left wings) while the military establishment seemed to be waiting for their consensus over this matter. That was the dissent which acted as the biggest hurdle in the way of launching an action against the religious extremists who brutally killed over 50,000 people. 

Very sadly, despite Pakistan having been known as one of the most politically and religiously vibrant countries of the world, not a single movement/campaign could emerge against the TTP`s brutality from any part of the country (except the protest rallies held by MQM over this issue). Similarly, the religious scholars, electronic and print media, civil society, lawyers, judges and even the ex-service men (of armed forces) did not come out on roads against the religious terrorists as they did during the lawyers` movement. God knows the best if that was the result of radicalization, pressure from the military establishment or, perhaps, a combination of both (as the foreign media claims).  

Question is, why was no preemptive measure adopted in order to nib the evil in the bud by the concerned people and authorities of the country? Over the Rangers` extension issue, the federal interior minister (Ch. Nisar) and other PPP`s political rivals bluntly asked the Sindh government, “Who will be responsible if any misshape occurs in Karachi due to the delay from the Sindh government?”

Now taking into account this very valid question, would all those people, parties and authorities, who strongly opposed and delayed the operation against Taliban deliberately, not be held responsible for the irrecoverable loss that the Pakistani nation had to incur due to this delay?

(It is also a bitter truth that the Army Public School massacre took place after the Prime Minister of Pakistan deferred the imminent operation against Taliban by publicly announcing that he wanted to give one more chance to peace/dialogue with them.) 
During the targeted operation in Karachi, we repeatedly heard the heads of law-enforcement agencies vowing to bring to justice not only the terrorists, but also their facilitators and sympathizers. In the light of the clear-cut policy announced by the state authorities, should we not expect an stern action against the political and religious leaders (whether in the government or on opposition benches) who opposed the military operation against the terrorists calling them “Our Pakistani Muslim brothers” and also using the term “Shaheed” (martyrs) for them? Should we not treat all these facilitators and sympathizers just like the terrorists who killed our people and kids? 

It is also on record that when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia required the Pakistani troops to protect their people against the rival tribes of Yemen, not only the federal government, but also the right wing political and religious parties came out on roads to express their solidarity with KSA saying, “We would not hesitate to sacrifice even our lives for the protection of our Muslim brothers and the house of God (The Kaaba).” Surprisingly, not a single time any of them tried to make the Saudi government understand, like they kept on arguing to oppose a military operation against Taliban, that the use of force was not a solution to any problem.  

It should be kept in mind that it is not only Pakistan, but there are also different countries of the world which are facing terrorism from the extremist groups namely ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabab etc.  

However, they are taking every possible step in order to crush the terrorist groups in order to ensure the security of their people. In this respect, they are also forming alliances for joint actions. Keeping in view all this, how strange it looks that, instead of seeking help from any other country of the world, Pakistani authorities and TTP apologists strongly resisted the US drone attacks which were targeting the terrorists in tribal areas! 

Question is, is such a policy aimed for the protection of people of Pakistan or to leave them at the mercy of terrorists? Taking into account all these bitter facts, can we expect these people, parties and (political as well as military) authorities to take any serious steps for truly rooting out the religious extremists from Pakistan? 
Logically no, as these are the people & authorities who themselves are responsible for the loss of thousands of innocent Pakistanis including the APS kids.

Therefore, it is extremely indispensable to bring the real terrorists, their facilitators and sympathisers to justice at the earliest. Of course, this is not possible unless and until all the political and religious parties, federal and provincial governments and, on top of all, the military establishment honestly come on the same page over this matter so as to ensure a safe Pakistan. Otherwise, the common Pakistanis are feared to face similar tragedies in the days to come. May God save all of us from such brutalities….Aameen!