- 16 Aug 2012
Kamra attack — so who is our real enemy?
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Strategy to win war on terror
How can we win this war if we do not own this effort?
ISLAMABAD: By now it should be clear to everyone that the war against terror is something that we need to own.
The fact of the matter is that any debate on whether the war is our own or has been imposed on us is quite pointless. How can we win this war if we do not own this effort?
Here is a five-point integrated roadmap to defeat the terrorists and it is in descending order of importance:
1) A national awareness campaign should be undertaken to educate Pakistanis on the horrors of extremism and its offspring terrorism and militancy. Right now, there is no such campaign in Pakistan, which makes it difficult to garner support against extremists.
2) The government needs to provide good governance because if this was in place, ordinary Pakistanis would have less reason or cause to be angry at the government and sympathise with the militants.
3) We should have good relations with our neighbours.
4) A ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ should be constituted and should include members of both the government and the opposition. This will help lower the current tensions prevailing in the country’s politics.
5) We need to improve our intelligence network and security systems.
The reason that intelligence and security have been placed at the lowest end is because I don’t see terrorism as an administrative problem.
If we have to win the war against terrorists, all the five steps mentioned above have to be taken.
BA Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2012.
Reader Comments (1)
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I agree with the proposed steps that need to be taken. The debate about ownership of war is indeed pointless. Not even the ultra rightist / religious parties have openly sided with the likes of TTP. Instead they claim that the militancy is being driven by foreign powers to destabilize Pakistan by sponsoring / planning / supporting from behind all the terrorist attacks. This provides an excellent opportunity to turn the argument on its head. Unfortunately no TV anchor has the guts of asking from Hamid Gul / Imran Khan / JI leaders etc on live TV that do they condemn unconditionally the likes of Maulana Fazlullah, Ehsanullah and other prominent militant leaders / spokesmen and do they favor their ruthless elimination. If indeed they are stooges of RAW/MOSSAD/CIA, it should not be difficult to say YES. Its high time we expose the sympathizers / apologists of militant outfits.
It must also be made absolutely clear that the fight is not between liberal and religious forces but with those who intend to destroy the civil society. There is no issue with legitimate religious parties and their coming into power. Even brotherhood is now ruling Egypt. The reason the rightist forces are forced on the back foot / apologetic mode is the perception that doing otherwise will undermine the drive for an Islamic state. LET THEM SAY WITH ONE VOICE THAT YES WE WANT ISLAMIC RULE BUT THE VERSION BEING PEDDALED BY TTP etc IS WORSE THAN PRESENT SYSTEM AND WE DO NOT SUPPORT IT ATLEAST BY BRUTAL BOMBING / SLAUGHTERING MEANS.As for the USA origin of militancy, everyone conveniently overlooked the statement of TTP spokesman that their mission of violent enforcement of Sharia in Pakistan (as they understand) shall continue after USA withdrawal from Afghanistan. I would say that even if USA is wiped out by a TSUNAMI, these barbarians wont spare us. Why is that so difficult to comprehend?
Moderator: Why are you taking so long to post my comment?Recommend