ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to the editorial “The genocide continues” (March 5).
The editorial is lamenting the obvious and the term “genocide” used is a complete reflection of the carnage that is taking place in the country.
While the criticism of the security agencies on the count of having failed to stem the rising tide of terrorism is justified, something is missing from the national narrative on the curse of extremism that the country faces.
Terrorism cannot be defeated unless governance and public awareness are improved significantly and unless a peaceful transfer of power becomes the norm of our hitherto grossly manipulated political experience. We need to go deep into the hearts and minds of the people who appear to have no trust in their rulers.
Once the yawning trust gap between the rulers and the ruled is minimised, the oxygen available to terrorists in the form of alleged public support will disappear gradually.
Our rulers are only looking at the surface of the problem without destroying the roots of the scourge. If we do not uproot the basic causes of the spectre of terrorism, our chances of winning this war will remain bleak.
Our present spineless anti-terror policy can cause no harm to the terrorists. The optimism that the people of Pakistan have in its future is under great threat.
BA Malik
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2013.
