Does deployment of TTP in international conflicts present a soft image of the country or of a country of mercenaries?
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Soon after Malala Yousufzai’s historic challenge to terrorists, the Pakistani social media was flooded with hate messages calling her an American agent. They blamed her for distorting the image of Pakistan by exposing an internal conflict to a wider audience. These hate-mongers argued that she was damaging Pakistan’s soft image and wondered about the identity of those who are the real forces behind her projection as an angel of peace, progress and as a champion of girls’ education. There is no point in further arguing with people who hold such views, as this is a matter of deeply entrenched mindsets that may be next to impossible to change.
Soon after Malala’s speech at the United Nations, there was news that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had new venues to prove their “capabilities”. It is being reported that the TTP militants are heading towards Syria. They are supposed to be fighting alongside the rebel forces to oust Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Earlier, Pakistani tribal areas were used by the TTP as a launching pad to attack international forces in Afghanistan, and also to attack Pakistani forces and civilians, as well as for providing a sanctuary for terrorists, while imparting them with required training facilities. But sending comrades to Syria shows their confidence — they can still keep the Pakistani state hostage while going about similar activities in Syria. This is a very dangerous development as the TTP will not limit itself to Syria only.
Now comes the question for hate-mongers: does the deployment of the TTP in international conflicts present a soft image of the country or that of a country of mercenaries? The image projected is not a soft one at all but is of a country whose social media activists blame Malala for ruining Pakistan’s image but keep quiet on the export of terrorists. Let us go back to what Malala said on July 12: “one child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world”.
It is high time for the Pakistani power brokers to do away with the mantra of dialogue with these terrorists and make some hard decisions. That is the only way to restore the country’s soft image.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2013.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
