Without holistic measures, any kind of relief from the present status quo of fear will not be possible
HYDERABAD: The Peshawar tragedy has rocked the nation and sent about ripples of fear and hatred. The tragedy clearly indicates that there is a real threat to the sovereignty of Pakistan, leading the country to a ‘now or never’ direction. There is now a growing number of young militants who flock to terrorist groups in Pakistan, and who pose a potential threat to the whole nation because of their twisted ideologies and because they are brainwashed by clerics in madrassas. But perhaps, the most troubling threat is the continued expansion of hardline groups of young militants who are established in different parts of Pakistan. Most analysts have rung alarm bells over this threat we face from trained and battle-hardened militants who are soon likely to pick up guns to fight their countrymen.
We need complete mapping of registered and unregistered madrassas in all provinces of Pakistan holistically. We then need initiate action against them by conducting minute scrutiny of these madrassas. At present, it will be difficult to detect madrassas involved in perverse activities and prevent them from operating but we need to be united on one platform if we are hoping to counter the menace they pose. All the organisations and institutions of the state need to come together and be on the same page to battle the threat of extremism. Without holistic measures, any kind of relief from the present status quo of fear will not be possible. By delaying this unity, we are only jeopardising the future of our children.
Nasiruddin Soomro
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
