Though prime minister has said that all Taliban are bad, he did not say a word about outfits like the LeT, ASWJ, LeJ
LAHORE: This is apropos Ayesha Siddiqa’s article of December 18 titled “Pakistan’s terror sitcom”. The writer is spot on in her assessment of the situation and how the political farce will play out.
Though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that all Taliban are bad and that there are no ‘good’ Taliban, he did not say a word about outfits like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, ASWJ, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi or the Jaish-e-Muhammad, to name just a few. These are also as much of terrorists as are the Taliban. The only difference is that they are yet to turn on the state of Pakistan. The day they do, one can only wonder what the response of the Pakistani people, government, military and politicians will be.
Pakistan cannot be like Janus. It has to face up to the fact of what Hilary Clinton quite presciently said in 2011: “You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to bite only your neighbours.” She is absolutely correct in suggesting that eventually these snakes will turn on whoever has kept them in the backyard. The sooner Pakistan faces up to this fact and dismantles all types of terrorist groups, the better it will be for us as well as the rest of the world. In the end, I would like to say that people the world over share the grief of each and every one who lost a near and dear one in this dastardly attack in Peshawar. We pray for their souls and hope that the Almighty will grant them peace and strength to their families to bear this loss.
Nisaar Ahmed Jogi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
