They say it’s a never ending war , that war has never been the solution. I want to agree , I want this madness to stop. The Taliban madness that makes all our daily life miseries seem ‘dim’. Everyday the headlines fill up with stories of war. Accentuating the brilliance of the military offensive and celebrating the deaths of more and more militants. The truth sinks somewhere behind all the military wish-wash , a truth that needs to be told and accepted. With every blow we hurl their way they come back with a stronger force. These people’ we call as ‘Taliban’ or ‘militants’ are deeply rooted within our society. We loathe them for their ‘extremism’ and vow to wipe them off , but can we uproot an ideology with weapons?.
No I am not against the military offensive in swat , and this isn’t about how we should ‘settle’ with the Talibs instead of the war. It isn’t. It cant be.
- Image Courtesy: Dawn.com
Its about the perplexed state of mind we all are in. Its about how we have all had enough , and how difficult its become to actually be optimistic about the future. Just about today a piece in dawn indicated the resurfacing of Sufi Muhammad in Peshawar. Makes me think if there really is a way to uproot the menace. Or will we choose to quarantine the ‘good’ Talibs and triumph on the deaths of others. Honestly I don’t even know if the news is true, but isn’t this uncertainty a pain enough ?. To be unaware of the potentialities of the enemy. Its like being hurled in battle ground heavily equipped but blindfolded.
With the war in the backdrop and a growing exodus, does the enemy not enjoy the leverage of our piling instability ?
- Photo Courtesy: Dawn
Another piece in dawn states that There are some 35,000 pregnant women among the 3.5 million IDPs who will deliver in the next seven months. The question is are we ready to bring these children into our world of uncertainties. The children already present at the IDP camps have lost their sense to speak. They have been shut by the atrocities they were made to witnessed. The first hand victims of war now lay helplessly while the war becomes our cover story. These people have shown utmost patience. While our political leaders stood at distance and worked on peace deals, these children’s became witness to ritual beheading of their family members. We didn’t care then , we were aloof and marred by the bloodshed around our cities. Quite thankfully many of us asked for ‘Nizam-e-aqal’ and denounced any peace talk with the talib’s of barbarism.
We chose a way that ensures that every single drop of blood shed by the regime will be paid for. That the ideology will be crippled and peace will triumph.
Months in the army offensive most of us still lack faith. Its difficult to make patience while we see refugees pooling in as we watch helpless ,struggling to help. The fact is this war is a long term affair. Its not only about killing the militancy but wiping the ideology that seeps in our society at many levels. Without dismantling the mindset we will only gain a temporary victory. A not so permanent fix that will be challenged with a larger blow as the miscreants resurface form within us. We will not be victorious till we choose to fight against our own demons. This isn’t only a war about weapons , it is a war of ideologies. Only we can choose whether we will ever learn to have faith and rise above our past or chose to dwell in decades of uncertainties.
Apart from being on a Shameless self marketing spree the author is a Feature Editor (South Asia) at BEE magazine. BEE is a quarterly journal published in Britain, focusing on Asian Women. The author identified the need for a magazine that brings out the intellectual side of Asian women and accepted read *grabbed* the opportunity. A very proud member of Amnesty International Online Community where she helps gain focus for the humanitarian Crisis at hand. This is her personal space where she plans to store all her published and unpublished rants.She is also known to be very lucky with her readers which explains her presence on several other Blogs Pro-Pakistan,Global Voices
9 Comments
July 7, 2009 at 4:42 PM
[...] This cup of tea was served by: Mystified Justice [...]
July 7, 2009 at 6:32 PM
A good strong piece that raises important valid points. It reflects the anger and frustration so many feel right now in Pakistan.
July 7, 2009 at 7:28 PM
A good, strong piece. It reflects the anger and frustration felt by so many in Pakistan.
July 7, 2009 at 7:40 PM
Sad but eventually true..
July 7, 2009 at 8:06 PM
I completely agree, Sana. Great post.
On the issue of health and the number of pregnant women, another problem is that there is not enough female doctors to tend to them. Todd Shea, of CDRS, has been working to bring doctors from overseas to the camps. My mom’s friend is one of them, and I think more people like her need to volunteer their time to go out there.
July 7, 2009 at 9:08 PM
yes thats very true kalsoom.I totally agree they need more female doctors not only to deal with pregnant women, but to treat all women at the camps since they practice pardah and wouldn’t get treated by male doctors.
July 11, 2009 at 1:04 PM
[...] This post was Twitted by farhanmasood [...]
July 20, 2009 at 4:53 PM
“Its not only about killing the militancy but wiping the ideology that seeps in our society at many levels. Without dismantling the mindset we will only gain a temporary victory.”
You’re right. It’s long term. But how do we plan to wipe out this ideology? That’s the problem. Is it not obvious what kind of steps have to be taken to root out this “ideology”? Demolish Madrassas? Limit activities in mosques? What does it come down to, especially when our government works at the behest of foreign powers? Penalize the few left in Pakistan who recognize the reality of their life after death, and struggle to be peaceful, honestly practising Muslims? Penalize people for keeping long beards? For wearing full veils? For teaching the Quran? Penalize everything that has any remote resemblance to anything remotely Islamic? Ultimately wiping out the word of God and His Messenger, to whom we do still at least claim lip-service?
Why can’t we open our eyes, think out of the secular (or media-brainwashed) box and take a realistic look around at what’s REALLY happening? Is this the first time that imperialist forces, either directly or through their local puppets, have tried to root out and persecute innocent religiosity under the pretext of rooting out dangerous ideologies? It’s happened all over the world, from China to Spain to Iraq, Islamic libraries burned, Qurans banned, hijab banned, people who keep Muslim names persecuted, genocide, displacement… Even in supposed Muslim countries like Egypt and Turkey – where one does not have the right to pray Fajr at a mosque. Can’t we see where we’re headed by falling like sheep into the propaganda that these “Talibs” cling to a dangerous, mutated ideology that is rooted in some extremist version of Islam? Can’t we open our eyes to the US-funded, color-coded or not-color-coded “revolutions” or “terrorism” in the world, in the NOT-so-recent past? What proof do we have that this Talib ideology is local and Madrassa-inspired and has deep roots that need to be cleansed? What proof do we have that this isn’t a manufactured cult, funded and supported and given military help by foreign powers? (If anything, I’ve only seen proof – in terms of history, funding, media trends, and the chronology of certain events – that this is clearly manufactured by outsiders.)
The biggest danger is not even knowing who our enemies are. By misidentifying the real bane of the problem, we might end up taking steps that will only pull us further into disarray and drag us down the path to complete destruction.
July 31, 2009 at 1:38 AM
[...] wouldn’t want to justify. Just last months I was in the same state of mind when I wrote about the incessant war. The fact that the war in swat is a long term affair. Its not only about killing the militancy [...]