The New York Times reported that General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, chief of staff of the Pakistan Army met Mike Mullen, David Petraeus, David McKiernan and other top U.S. officials aboard Abraham Lincoln to discuss how best to beat the Taliban in tribal areas.
Well, good, finally these guys are waking up!!!
For years, thoughtful and serious people have been saying that the danger is increasing and if not tackled right away, the Taliban threat in Pakistani tribal areas would become too big to control, but, alas, nothing was done. Yes, money was given to Musharraf to modernize Pakistan Army and yes, there have been some strikes inside Pakistan by the Americans to kill few terrorists. And yes, Musharraf and Pakistan Army did try to fight the terrorists, but nothing changed. As a result of this halfhearted effort by the world, including Musharraf, Taliban in Pakistan became a reality. Now, Taliban are striking inside Pakistan and Afghanistan with deadly accuracy whenever they want, and there is nothing Pakistan Army, the Afghan Army or the NATO troops could do to stop (forget defeating them) these attacks. These terrorists have proved that they are not ready to compromise their goal (defeating rest of the world to impose their version of Islam) and they are determined to fight till the end. And fight they will if something serious is not done soon.
Based on the evidence that we read in the press, believe it or not, men (and women!) in uniform in Pakistan seem to believe that the best way to deal with the militants is to defeat the militarily. However, history teaches us a different lesson. If the enemy is as determined as the Taliban, it is not enough to fight them.
We need a new paradigm.
There can be no peace, lasting or temporary, unless we make the world understand that these Taliban are a threat to humanity. The world has to come to grips with the fact that these nihilists are a threat to the progress that the world has made over the last few centuries. These militants are a bunch of homicidal maniacs determined to spread destruction and chaos because they have been brainwashed to believe that they are on a holy mission. These people, driven by religious zeal, albeit misguided, are trying to recreate an environment that according to their beliefs is the right way to live in this world. And what is their model of good governance? Taliban rule in Afghanistan is a way of life that these determined foes are trying to impose on all of us.
We must reject them without any ifs and buts!
It is not going to be easy because these thugs do have support. Believe me, there are people who do believe that Taliban are good people and their fight is for rescuing Islam. We have to first reach out to these silent supporters of Taliban. This war cannot be won unless we eliminate both silent and vocal encouragement for the Taliban.
It is important to understand that Taliban cannot be defeated, unless their message is countered with the message of peace, tolerance and hope. We have to make people understand that no religion, including Islam, supports violence. We have to make it clear that God fearing people cannot condone vicious acts of violence against humanity. Suicide bombings, beheadings, refusal to integrate in contemporary world and other things that Taliban and their supporters promote in the name of religion. This ideology proposed by the Taliban must be rejected, not by few, but by a vast majority.
For our message to take hold, and reach all over the world, we have to be in sync and our efforts too have to be coordinated. Pakistan of course is at the forefront of fight against the Taliban. This fight has to be taken seriously, and it has to be supported by everyone if the world is serious about a terrorism free future.
Regretfully, politicians in Pakistan are squabbling as they always do, and the situation in the country is getting bleak by the hour. This is not good for democracy, sure, but this infighting for power in Pakistan is terribly damaging for Pakistan's tomorrow. The economy is in distress, law and order across the county is hopeless, overall mood in the country is gloomy and Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari cannot agree on any major issue. Zardari wants to be the president and Nawaz Sharif wants to amend the constitution so that he could become the Prime Minister, again.
And these are the leaders of the two major political parties? God help and save Pakistan.
I have said it before and I will continue to say it as long as I have to repeat it. It is not too late to take on the terrorists head on, and it is never too late to do the right thing. If the current political leadership in Pakistan cannot feel the coming war with Taliban, let me help these leaders. Taliban are coming, and they are coming with no fear of death or imprisonment. Luckily, Taliban are on the wrong side in the conflict. Let us unite to defeat these hate mongers. Let us join hands to save the country and the future of Pakistan. Let us come together to oppose the Taliban all across Pakistan to protect our future. This is a crucial battle for those who live inside Pakistan. This is an equally emotional fight for those Pakistani who don't live in Pakistan and believe me these expatriates are willing to do whatever it takes to help protect their country. All Pakistani leaders have to do is ask and the country would be amazed by the eagerness and the generosity of expatriates.
Yet, there are those who advocate negotiating with the Taliban with this naïve hope that somehow these brutal killers would understand the language of reason and logic. This pattern has proven to be deadly misguided and talking, negotiating or reasoning with irrational people has never worked in the past, and if history is any guide, it won't work in the future either. After signing a treaty with Hitler, Chamberlain returned, triumphant and convinced that he has saved his country and Europe from destruction. Time proved him wrong, but we have a lesson here in the words of Winston Churchill who told Neville Chamberlain after he returned from signing the Munich Pact with Hitler in 1938. "You were given the choice between dishonor and war. You chose dishonor. And you will have war."
Bilal Qureshi
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