For 'Freeeedommmm' - by Roman Ahsan

FOR ‘FREEEEDOMMMM'

– by Roman Ahsan (March 2009)

The terrorism scene in Pakistan is quite complex actually – the post below is now five years old but it is still relevant today as it is an attempt to define a few things we miss at times…

FOR ‘FREEEEDOMMMM'

– by Syed Roman Ahsan (March 2009)

Posted at: http://bit.ly/1dV82Su [Together We Rise!]

Terrorism is a very serious menace Pakistan is facing since so many years now. Before discussing how to root out terrorism in Pakistan, we should study the background of all that is happening here. These days, we go to our workplaces, educational institutions and markets with an air of insecurity, but still we have accepted the chaotic situation persisting in our country as normal. It is only those who become victims of terrorist strikes or the relatives of victims that have to go through great ordeals.

It all started with the US attacking Afghanistan and the locals trying to 'resist' the 'invaders', fighting for their freedom. Some of that resistance spilled over in our country, leading to the current mayhem. We admire western heroes as depicted in Hollywood movies with great awe, yet we fail to understand what motivated William Wallace, a Scottish hero to raise an army of commoners against a whole kingdom in the much acclaimed film 'Braveheart' (even though some of the war scenes are very distasteful and indecent). Our public accepts William's stance since he speaks English and represents a bold figure from the West, yet the unsophisticated locals of Afghanistan are looked down upon since they are associated with the 'Mullah image' of Islam.

One thing is for sure that we cannot blame everything on the US and its allies, and need to address some ground realities as well. However the truth should be acknowledged that there are covert forces behind terrorists in our country i.e. the external elements. We should refrain from including the locals in Afghanistan who are actually freedom fighters and the entities in the North of Pakistan with nefarious designs, in the same group. External funding was however not dominant in the initial phase of the US “War on Terror” which our Armed forces fought. Pakistani Muslims going to help the Afghan Taliban against the occupation forces were not terrorists but they posed a problem to US interests. With time the enemies of Pakistan created fighting groups in the tribal areas that have now become monsters!

Extremism is a different issue altogether. In order to eradicate it, we need to bring the Madressahs at par with the rest of the educational institutions in the country while not compromising on the studies of Qur’an, Hadith and Arabic Language. A mix of teachers who are religious as well as worldly educated should govern the Madressahs and the students studying there should not be from the deprived class only. The right combination of religion and worldly education is desired in the curriculum in all educational institutions. Lastly, we should stop associating terrorism with the fundamentalists or the Madressahs, since that is exactly what our enemies intend!