What the Charsadda attack reveals about us

In the face of the latest in a series of attacks carried out on our soil, there are certain truths that we need to take heed of. Through careful introspection we must try to understand where we went wrong and what the attack on Bacha Khan University reveals about Pakistan.

First, the attack proves that we have learnt nothing from the past. If the TTP can carry out a very similar attack only 25 days after the first anniversary of the APS horror, then we have failed every student who dares attend a school, college or university in this nation. There is danger that the much-coveted National Action Plan might end up in the same dusty archives where impotent bills and committees established to tackle one problem after another now reside. In any other country, the first call of action post a tragedy of this nature would be to examine the methods employed to protect the sovereignty of the nation, and to analyse and critique them where they have failed us. A terror attack that leaves 21 dead is as big a failure as it gets. Not surprisingly, the criticism of lapses of the security establishment is missing. Will we ever demand an answer from those responsible for our safekeeping?

Second, the aftermath of the attack reveals our inability to admit our failures. It seems that it’s never our fault. The speed with which we blamed external forces for the attack and thus freed ourselves of any responsibility was astounding. Within a few hours of the attack, hashtags such as #RawBehindCharsadda were trending on Twitter. All sensible dialogue is shot down when even the educated class makes comments such as the one made by a respected television anchor on Twitter: “Strategic Mastermind’s goal is to continue definining Pakistan as ‘Epicentre of Terror’ to enforce global isolation; now who wants that, guess?” Read: India, Jewish lobby, the US, and so on. A flurry of politicians and influencers, not least former interior minister Rehman Malik, raced to news channels to declare that India was to blame. We’ve always been at loggerheads with India, and I don’t think anyone doubts the existence of Indian proxies in Afghanistan. I also don’t doubt that various outfits in the region, such as the TTP, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, al Qaeda and even the Islamic State would be easy pickings for any enemy of Pakistan. But for the sake of everything that we hold dear, Pakistan must wake up and smell the coffee. Let’s start by taking a long hard look at the banned organisations that, to this day, operate freely on our streets, and ask ourselves: are these people our allies? Every nation has enemies, and in this moment we need to focus on protecting ourselves instead of playing mindless blame games. The bottom line is this: India isn’t responsible for the safety of our people; we are.

Third, we see a tendency towards glorifying martyrdom. This growing fixation seems to almost overshadow the stark finality of death. A mother who loses her child to terror should never be described as ‘lucky’. It’s all well and good to honour martyrs in their absence, but please let us not forget harsh realities. I say this with the utmost respect and responsibility: we need to stop this culture of glorifying death. It isn’t enough to pay tribute to our martyrs. Feelings of grief, remorse and admiration must be followed by those of fury and defiance, and most importantly, meaningful action. To do otherwise is an insult to the memory of the very people we shed tears for.

Lastly, this tragedy once again proves that we are braver, stronger and more resilient than we realise. Every time a calamity occurs in this part of the world, I am amazed by the resilience of the Pakistani people. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan has never, in its young history, breathed free. We have always been on the defence. The few periods of respite in between appear to be nothing more than time allotted to prepare for the next misfortune to befall us.

Yet mothers will nudge awake sleepy children tomorrow, dress them, and send them off for another day of learning. Life goes on and we persist, and in this lies our greatest victory.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st,  2016.

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