The writer is Executive Director News, Express News. He tweets @fahdhusain
fahd.husain@tribune.com.pk
"Let it be clear to one and all, we shall fight this war on all fronts. We shall fight with our guns and with our ideas; we shall fight with our resolve and our policies; we shall fight with our clarity and our reformatory zeal. And I promise you, we shall win on every front. We shall win because we have the will — I have the will — to win. We shall not stop till we prevail over the enemy in total victory.
"This victory will not be easy. It will entail pain and sacrifice. Many of us will suffer more than we can imagine. The fires of terrorism that we have lit will consume many before they are finally extinguished. The mistakes that we committed over decades will haunt us yet. There will be agony and suffering. And there will be death.
"But we shall not back down. Hear my words: We. Shall. Not. Back. Down.
"Words alone, my fellow citizens, are not enough. Which is why I will lead with example. The government will lead with example. We will now undertake steps we should have taken a long time ago. We shall now initiate reform that we should have initiated a long time ago. And we shall now — after wasting so much time — rise above our own interests to cleanse the filth that we ourselves have spewed across this fair land.
"Today marks the day Pakistan awakens. Today we shed the baggage of the past and move on; today we wash our sins of yore and move on; today we bury our demons of yesteryears and move on. Yes, we move on and march on with a determination never seen before, and a resolve never felt before. So here I stand before you all, promising to do what needs to be done without fear or favour, without malice or ill-intent, and without any hesitation or reluctance. Here I stand, your wartime leader, pledging to every single man, woman and child, that I will not rest till this country is reformed, strengthened and re-made in the image of the Founder of the Nation.
"We will give to our brave soldiers whatever they require to win this war. We stand fully behind them in every respect. We salute them, and their families, for their courage and valour. We shall harbour no doubts and no ambiguities in our hearts in the waging of this existential war.
"And we shall do whatever it takes to set this country right. We shall start with reforming our police. Yes, I know every ruler has said the same thing, and every ruler has singularly — and spectacularly — failed in doing so. And yes, I can now admit we, the rulers, have used, abused and ravaged the police for our own petty personal political interests. Today, this changes. You know and I know that reforming the police requires political will. We have the plans and the blueprints for such reform, but we did not have the will. Now, I promise to display this will. And I promise six months from today, you shall see a new, revamped, reformed, professional police force that acts independent of any political pressure. I will make this happen six months from today.
"Today I am also ordering a wide-ranging reform of the judiciary. I have already conducted extensive and in-depth consultations with the honourable chief justice of Pakistan, and we both agree this reform must be initiated and completed with utmost urgency, transparency and sincerity. Again, we know what to reform and how to reform, but just did not have the will to do so.
"We will show similar resolve in reforming our madrassas. For too long, this reform has been held hostage to the interests of political and religious personalities. Well, no more. I say to you today, I will not allow any political blackmailing to weaken my resolve to reform the madrassahs and bring them into the mainstream of Pakistani life. These Pakistani children studying in madrassahs deserve a future brimming with options. They must be armed with all the educational skills that every Pakistani child deserves. It is our collective failure that we have miserably failed to provide them the education that is their right and our basic responsibility. We have failed our children. We have a lot to catch up with to make up for our failures. I promise all vested interests controlling madrassahs: be ready to cooperate with the government, or be ready to pay the price. We cannot afford to delay this reform. And we shall not.
"And finally, my fellow citizens, I pledge to you that today we start the process of cleansing all militancy-related ideas from our society. It is my commitment to you — without fear of consequences — that the State of Pakistan will never again birth militant groups for its agendas. It is my commitment to you that I will crack down on every single militant group within our borders regardless of any blowback. It is my commitment to you that I will reform every single curriculum being taught in every single school of Pakistan till there is nothing left that promotes intolerance, bigotry, violence and hatred for other cultures. We must become a nation at peace with ourselves, and with others.
"So my fellow Pakistanis, make no mistake: this is war. I am your wartime leader, and I shall fight and fight till the terrorist and his terrorism is vanquished from this land forever.”
(This speech is ready. Who is ready to give it?)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.
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COMMENTS (44)
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@Aysha M: Might you not add the leashing of parties that practice coercive politics?
In short your are grabbing the bulls by the horn. I mean the bulls of corruption, nepotism, terrorism, inefficiency, etc. etc. that have plagued us. Rest assured you will never make it. Afterall you are poking your nose into affairs of millions. Do you think they will let you do this?. No, never. Whoever comes to power in Pakistan needs the blessings of the corrupt. thief, the lawbreaker and so on. Do you really think people choose their leaders in this country. At best yours in wishful thinking. I too wish it comes true.
@sadaf: Keep dreaming.
A well written speech by Fahad. Yes, the speech is ready. It contains everything, every promise, every pledge that a leader needs to make to this nation. The powerful words that would give a hope to this hopeless nation. The clear objectives that will guide the leader to work in the required direction. The polices that we need to implement, the grey areas where we need to work. The resolve, commitment and determination which a leader requires to show to this nation is available in this speech. Yes the speech is ready. But who is going to give the speech? and its not only giving this speech? Who is going to deliver the contents of this speech? Lets have a look at our politicians .... Analyze each politician and curse yourself that you voted for such people. (Dont repeat the same mistake in 2018) We do have a personality who can lead from front, he has been leading from front since assumption of present appointment. He started the op Zarb e Azb against the terrorists in North Waziristan, convinced the reluctant politicians that this operation is necessary for the survival of Pakistan. He displayed how to lead from from when the country was mourning 16 December. Yes, COAS can lead. Give him a chance.
@Ch. Allah Daad: The answer to your question is very simple and straight! Close down the Punjab University education in in KPK, Sindh and Baluchistan, requirig each province to set up their own norms and standards hich compete with one another and those of the European universities. In other worrds making Education as the responsibility of the provinces and not any business of the Federal Government. This act alone will place Pakistan among other civilised countries of the world!!
Rex Minor
looks like you copied stuff from a hollywood movie, lincoln and all. please!
And this speech will be delivered in English?
@Ranjha
Sure, all your wishes will come true but you have to do tauba
Tauba for what?
For being killed by the Taliban? Remember BB, Taseer and Bhatti?
And remember who the Taliban were supporting in the Elections?
Now you know who needs to do Tauba.
very very well said! Everything has prospects to succeeds but need a resolve. Our political leadership is urgently required to bring educational reforms in the true sense. The education can effectively and expeditiously awaken awareness in the masses. The fire lit up due to extremism & terrorism must be restrained otherwise it is going to be out of control & we will be helplessly spectating it if it gets more escalated. Our political leadership must sincerely look into the matter of extremism & terrorism. As far as religious madressahs are concerned there needs reforms to made sure, as well. Particularly in tribal areas, school are inadequate to arm all kids with education. Educational institutions should be adequately constructed there as well for the sake of awareness creation in them.
@observer:
Sure, all your wishes will come true but you have to do tauba from being a darbari. Have an original thought for a change.
See you at the dharna.
A fantasy article only good enough for getting likes on social media. Impractical.
Dear Fahad, this speech is written by you and you are the one who is going to deliver the speech, not in front of the PTV life cameras, neither the cameras of private TV channels, but you will deliver the speech in your bedroom, in front of the mirror.
The speech after the 21st amendment will be passed in the National Assembly is not yet written and let me also tell you that I am the won who is going to write the speech and it will be delivered by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and will be delivered direct from the National Assembly, after the successful counting of the votes.
Now you please kindly take rest and don't bother about the speech any more, as it is my job, not yours.
@RANA MAJID KHAN: "Pathetic," you cannot get the drift of the write-up, period.
@Ranjha:
Is that clear or shall I say it in Arabic?
Actually just saying it in Urdu in any newspaper would be sufficient. Or better still may be the Dharna in Chief could hold a rally to explain this.
And while you are at it do demand that Aashia Bibi be released, pronto.
A leader surrounded by five thousands policemen won't mind to make this speech but not others. The writer like many in media has once again failed to find the cancerous cell. Just one example to explain my view point. Let alone possibility of Madrasah reforms, he cannot find ten people who would agree what reforms would be. Can anyone tell me that how Punjab University should be considered different from Madrasah Haqqania?
This is a veiled write-up for inviting the Army to takeover.
Simply brilliant as always. Fahad, atleast no leader in our land of purity and resolve has the courage to deliver this speech. But hope for the best as there is always a silver lining.
(This speech is ready. Who is ready to give it?) You sum it up right. One day a Pakistani might land on Mars but none has guts to touch this speech written by you. If that happen then it must be second coming or sun rise in west.
if i ever become a PM i'll ask you Mr. Fahd, to write a speech for me, infact every speech for me, because your narration is very unique and legendary.
Dear Sir , Your speech is good but whatever you have said "It is easier said than done "
Taliban is not an entity its a mindset which exists in our society . We need to fight this mindset . Fata people are the affectees of this virus . They have suffered the most n brutally exploited .its time we rise as a nation n fight back n eradicate this mindset . Fight back with the weapon of education . Educate people help them . Educate idps n help them . Its high time to act otherwise these Grievences will turn into anti state agendas N more terrorism . Rise n reclaim your religion n country
your usual Fahd...great going. Please add..." today , we the civilian govt & Parliament abdicates responsibility as enshrined in the constitution. Today, we have out-sourced our responsibilities to our valiant Armed forces, who are more competent than all of us put together. Dear Countrymen, we came in with great hope, but we could not fathom the depth of these terrorist out-fits, nor we could jointly find solutions to put STOP to daily killings of our innocent poor people. We woke up when we found the fire at our door step....because, we were jointly busy in the Parliament in discussing the dharnas. " the incident of APS shook us from our deep slumber, we deliberated on the issue by making numerous committees, but we found ourselves, the judiciary & the present system incapable of solving the problems as IK & TuQ informed the masses, because we were working on different priorities. Of course, we felt bad, sorry & our heart & sympathy goes with the families of those who lost, but we thought that making metros, flyovers, underpass & motorways may give them some solace, but it turned out to be misplaced after APS, but we did not have the courage to accept our wrong policies, So,we have out-sourced all our responsibilities to tackle the menace of terrorism to the Armed, who has our full support ".
@Sheikh Sa'adi:
Pathetic comment. People like you are one of the main reasons we are stuck in the mire we are in.
Einstein, it is always better to start with dialogue to woo away some factions to reduce the enemy and to gain moral and political upper hand, hence the dialogue. And such dialogue shall be conducted in the open for all to see who says what and behaves in which way than through shady midnight calls to Rana Sanaullah's friends by the insidious Non League! Hence the office.
Is that clear or shall I say it in Arabic?
This speech cannot be given by any leader of pakistan except Quaid-e-Azam & Winston Churchill if only they were alive today, our leaders of today lack the will, integrity, passsion to deliver this speech, this speech could be the foundation to defeat terrorism in all its forms.
@Mohni: yes she had courge to deliever any speech but his chance as pm should have been assured,
@Mohni:
If she had any "wisdom" or "intellect" she would have never married Zardari.
@Sheikh Sa'adi:
Pathetic comment. Emptyheads like you are one of the main reasons we are stuck in the mire we are in. Einstein, it is always better to start with dialogue to woo away some factions to reduce the enemy and to gain moral and political upper hand, hence the dialogue. And such dialogue shall be conducted in the open for all to see who says what and behaves in which way than through shady midnight calls to Rana Sanaullah's friends by the insidious Darbari League! Hence the office.
Is that clear or shall I say it in Arabic?
Benazir Bhutto would have given this speech. She had the courage, wisdom, intellect and commitment to deliver such speech.
Whoever is capable of delivering such a speech would also have the will to hand in his post dated resignation dated one year after the speech!
Dear Fahd, Alas if our leader on the throne has the guts to rise to the occasion and encompass all the concerns that have been aptly covered by you in this draft speech....... And go through with it. or is it expecting too much from the shallow depths of their mental makeups. Let's see what the future holds for all of us.
Excellent and a rousing address.......one would have to look for a Mohammed Ali Jinnah or a war time PM like Churchill ....... and all we have are pygmies masquerading as statesmen.
@Stupidity: Stupidity in what? Some people in Pakistan can miss their flight but never miss any opportunity to fire negativity on everything going on in front of them. Pathetic
FAHAD you have prescribed death penalty to vested interests, patronage and dynastic politics of lingering old lot in your brilliant piece of speech. They would not impose this penalty on themselves
WHATT???
I thought Mr Fahd was more into
' These are our brothers and stakeholders. Let us have Muzakirat. Let us allow them to open recruitment offices all over the place'.
The piper seems to have changed the tune. Wonder Why?
I could not find any mention of the deep undercurrents from within and outside the Country that have confounded our past, present and future. We need to clear the decks of tried and tired politicians. Capable administrators from within with a realistic job description and very short commissions is what is needed in this Nation of 200 Million. No more politics or politicians for the foreseeable future.
The logical outcome of political and economic bankruptcy is voluntary administration, hopefully by our own.
Dear Fahd,
BRAVO!!!
That is all i can say to this. To sum it up, this article was the need of the hour, and makes me wonder, who is writing speeches for our Prime Minister? Because obviously spine is missing in those words.
Can we only blame the rulers? What is the role and contribution of the society at large even in the current situation? What was the response of the society towards the murder of Salman Taseer; even his own party PPP? Why is almost everyone scared of being attacked and killed if he opens his mouth against this extremist mindset? Do we need some organization against this mindset at a level other than official and governmental too?
If, I may add to the list of reforms and burying of demons. The state has no business in preparing citizens for life hereafter and their smooth transition to heavens above is a private and personal matter, hence the faith of people cannot be a part of public domain. State has to provide security, health, education and shelter and laws and justice system that doesn’t allow individuals to become a morally compromised society. There has to be separation of state and religion in the matters of governance or that of individual as a citizen. Pakistan became a victim of state initiated extremism in 1974, when religion was unfortunately brought into public domain. The constitution of Pakistan in 1974, in an unprecedented example in the history of modern legislation took on the responsibility of identifying faith of its people. Ahmadis were constitutionally declared to be out of the fold of Islam and the country was led down the hate path. And the path turned out to be a slippery slope, ahmedis, shias and the non-muslim minorities, facing existential threat. By caving in to clerics’ demands, back in 1974 Bhutto gained no political mileage, but met with a miserable end. But what it did do was that it generated sectarian tendencies among the masses and caused widespread problem of bigotry and extremism. Fahad would your speech add repealing of 2nd amendment, the seed to the culture of hate and intolerance we are suffering today.
Stupidity at best.
Absolutely brilliant Fahd Hussain! Alas NS hasn't got the personality, strength of character and governance, or even the guts to say this out and loud, hence I suppose the nation rallies behind Gen RS! I think he has made the speech already! Few more months of stupid political parties fooling people further, and all shall happily welcome army!
Truly brilliant. If, I may add to the list of reforms and burying of demons. The state has no business in preparing citizens for life hereafter and their smooth transition to heavens above is a private and personal matter, hence the faith of people cannot be a part of public domain. State has to provide security, health, education and shelter and laws and justice system that doesn’t allow individuals to become a morally compromised society. There has to be separation of state and religion in the matters of governance or that of individual as a citizen. Pakistan became a victim of state initiated extremism in 1974, when religion was unfortunately brought into public domain. The constitution of Pakistan in 1974, in an unprecedented example in the history of modern legislation took on the responsibility of identifying faith of its people. Ahmadis were constitutionally declared to be out of the fold of Islam and the country was led down the hate path. And the path turned out to be a slippery slope, ahmedis, shias and the non-muslim minorities, facing existential threat. By caving in to clerics’ demands, back in 1974 Bhutto gained no political mileage, but met with miserable ends. But what it did do was that it generated sectarian tendencies among the masses and caused widespread problem of bigotry and extremism. Fahad would your speech add repealing of 2nd amendment, the seed to the hate culture we are suffering from today.
Excellent speech. Unfortunately no politician or general had the guts to think on these lines let alone deliver them to the nation or practically.
Definitely, as is evident from events since APS, not the current political lot.
I wish, like so many other things, we could also import courageous, principled, honest and determined leaders.