Unity is the best revenge for Peshawar attack
I am speechless as I write these lines. How come I explain the tragedy embedded in brutal assassinations of innocent pupils (130 plus children and teachers killed and 100 plus injured) and its impact on thousands of people directly - and millions indirectly. The imprint of grief and shock on national psyche cannot be described in words, weighed for its impact – humanly or politically. The terrorists didn’t seem interested in hostage taking. They wanted to kill as many innocent children as they could in the very heart of bustling Peshawar city that has historically been a hub as well as strategic symbol of resistance against the Soviet occupation of nearby Afghanistan, 9/11 and its aftermath, and lately against the umbrella organisation of Pakistani terrorist group – Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Peshawar is a soft target due to its proximity with some tribal areas of the country that act as a buffer between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It didn’t take much for a splinter group of TTP to claim responsibility of the incident immediately as soon as they struck mercilessly. No one thought the terrorists, known in this part of the world as hard-line religious fundamentalists, would stoop so low. But they are terrorists after all, let’s try to understand and bear in mind.
They wanted to avenge the deaths of their fellows killed so far in the months old military operation launched by the new Pakistani military leadership. Scared, on the run and holed up at different locations in country’s tribal and settled areas since start of military operations in tribal areas that badly hit their command and control centers and ability to strike Pakistan’s cities and town through cowardly suicide attacks, the terrorists wanted to send some subtle/ final warning shots across. In short, terrorists tried to hurt the very soul of Pakistani nation on Wednesday in Peshawar. They attacked the very future of this country. They couldn’t.
This was Pakistan’s own version of 26/11 (Mumbai attacks) – not less. This was the deadliest terrorism incident in Pakistan so far. The terrorists wanted to jolt the very fabric of the Pakistani society and send a cruel and barbaric message. Instead they united the badly scarred Pakistanis in their resolve to fight and eliminate terrorism from their soil - the war that had griped Pakistani society in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks – a fall out of literally three decades of conflict and war on the country’s western border.
By attacking innocent school and college children in a literally barbaric way, they wanted to send a loud and clear message to the Pakistani nation and government - stop military operations in country’s tribal belts along the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border. But, their unbridled aggression and barbarism was rejected by all segments of the Pakistani society. Even the Pakistani Taliban sympathisers, cornered since start of military operation in the country’s volatile North Waziristan in June this year, wouldn’t be able to defend this action of the TTP and its affiliates. The people with religious leanings, having anti-America sentiments, having sympathies with hard line Taliban across the Durand line (Pak-Afghan border) or Pakistan’s own version of Taliban, people for and against the recent military operation in country’s tribal belt etc – divided till date - would have to adopt a singular national narrative. With more than 50,000 Pakistani civilians dead so far in country’s war against terrorism, our deceased children on Tuesday compelled all segments of the society to think and ponder over the direction of the nation.
As Wednesday dawns, the decision will be a loud and clear message for the terrorists – apart from their religion, ethnicity, race or creed. I cannot forget the bravado of a parent whose son was killed trying to safeguard rest of his class mates as the terrorists were spraying bullets at innocent pupils in the Peshawar school. With tears in his eyes, he announced how proud he was of his son. Seeing scenes of the barbarism on television screen, my wife told me bluntly, after years long wait may be , “Lets leave this country and migrate to some safe heaven in the west…the future of children is not safe here,” she told me in a very emotional manner. Naturally, she could not bear the horror of innocent children slain this day. They belonged to the age group of my sons and daughters. “I won't,” was my blunt reply even though I have been thinking on these lines for years as I got covered scores of terrorism incidents throughout the past few years as bureau head of new channels, and through print media too.
My resolve was not momentary, nor larger than life. Like a normal human being it came spontaneously from deep inside, as we humans have an inbuilt system to reject the wrong and adopt the right path, fight and conquer our fears. Life must go on countrymen. Let’s not lose hope.