All the best, Pakistan, we are with you!

Hindu nationalists may say ‘Pakistanis are reaping what they sow’ but I, for one, believe Pakistan will be...

What do you do when your neighbour’s house catches fire? Do you sit by, try to extinguish the fire using water or hasten its destruction by throwing petrol in it?

Pakistan, our neighbour, my dear friends, has been afire for the last 12 years.

Verily, it is one of the biggest victims of terrorism, duh. Statistics reveal an alarming rise in the number of fatalities due to acts of terrorist violence in the Islamic Republic in recent years. As per the data available with the South Asia Terrorism Portal, as many as 52,409 people, including women, children and brave security personnel, lost their precious lives from 2003 till June 8, 2014.

Yes, you read it right.

52,409 human beings, who had hands, bodily organs, a human shape, five senses, feelings and passions, have been crucified on the cross of religious fanaticism.

Up until now, 2014 has been one of the deadliest years for Pakistan. Since January 1 to June 8, around 1893 lights have been snuffed out by the wave of terrorism. Moreover, the office of this newspaper, for which I write, has been attacked four times in the last eight months. Pish!

Alas, whenever a terrorist attack takes place in Pakistan, the ‘Hindu nationalists’ do not turn a hair and their usual response would, thus, be –

‘Pakistanis are reaping what they sow’,

‘This is what happens when you run with the hare and hunt with the hounds’,

‘This is what happens when you keep snakes in your backyard’,

‘Pakistan engendered this Frankenstein’s monster’, blah, blah, blah.

Agreed, Pakistan committed a mistake by nurturing extremists in their own backyard, but the scales have fallen from their eyes now. We cannot be oblivious to the fact that the educated youth of Pakistan is fed up of terrorism and extremism at home; they too have dreams and aspirations; they also want peace in their lives. They deserve it just like anyone else, for they are no children of a lesser god.

Remember, had there been no partition, all of us would still have been living together as brothers; this is the kind of relationship Indians and Pakistanis share. Yet, it is a pity that we do not miss an opportunity to rejoice over each other’s misfortunes. Nothing could be more atrocious than this.

I, for one, want to tell the Pakistanis that my heart bleeds whenever any acts of terrorism take place in their country and at loss of precious lives therein. Only a heartless creature could take pleasure in others’ misery and I, Sir, have a heart that beats; I am not a beast; I feel thy pain.

In my view, all right-thinking Indians and Pakistanis, in their own good, ought to come together to defeat extremism in their societies. This battle cannot be won through guns and swords alone, though. It’s a fight between love and hate, good and evil. Alas, there’s too much hate around us. Let’s spread love for a change and try to resolve all our issues through non-violent means and brotherhood. I wish people could understand that there’s more to our relationship than Kashmir and terrorism.

At this juncture, when Pakistan’s army has decided to beard the lion in his den and set off on a mission to weed out unwanted elements from their country, I want to assure my brothers and sisters that all right-thinking Indians are with them in these testing times. I am convinced victory shall kiss thy feet before long. As for the terrorists, the chickens have finally come home to roost. Their goose is cooked.

All the best, Pakistan!