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!
