ehsan

Couldn't agree more with this article. it is an attack on our way of life. we have to stand up to these scums and defend our way of life or else everything will be lost. By killing innocnet women and children these people are not showing their anti Americanism they are sending us a message which is that either you live according to our dictates or we will destroy everything you have.

Attacking our way of life

Posted by Murtaza Razvi


Amidst the mayhem gripping Pakistan today, there is also a deafening silence pervading the corridors of power and the ranks of the opposition on the prevailing security situation. That silence, too, is being heard now. Pakistan is at war, and this is a war that is being fought as much in our cities as on the frontlines in Fata.
Wednesday’s attack on a Peshawar market, selling mostly women’s merchandise, is an attack on our way of life more than anything else. It is not a statement of the Taliban’s anti-Americanism as Hillary Clinton lands in Pakistan, nor is it a sign of their hatred against the Pakistan Army, which is carrying out a military operation in South Waziristan. It is aimed at women, as you see that a big number of those killed in Peshawar are women shoppers; shoppers that the Taliban want confined within the four walls of their homes. It is an attack on our way of life as we have lived it in Pakistan.
But back to the silence first: President Zardari met Mian Nawaz Sharif over dinner in the security of the presidency on Monday, and the two leaders did not even utter a word of concern about what the people are having to go through in wartime. Islamabad is a city very much under siege; Lahore and Peshawar are no different. And if you ask parents with school-going children in Karachi, they will tell you the situation in the Sindh capital is no less alarming.
Bickering aside, what Mr Sharif told Mr Zardari at their meeting, that the people were becoming acutely aware of the lack of governance, would have made more sense if he had also said the same thing addressing the chief minister of Punjab. The lack of governance and security failures in that province where his own party rules the roost is equally appalling. This is just bad politics at a time when the people need to see their leaders showing more concern about the challenges staring them in the face.
Opening after a week of closure, many private schools in our cities have installed CCTVs, deployed snipers, and placed sandbags around their buildings as local police patrol the areas during school hours. A sense of fear grips parents dropping off their children at school; not a day goes by without terrorists trying to attack security forces’ personnel, amidst reports that all vital installations, media organs, and educational institutions are in the bull’s eye as far as extremist militants’ top targets are concerned.
Schools offering co-education have received threats from terrorists, which have to be taken seriously because of the history of attacks on and threats against schools and colleges in Swat, Peshawar, and across Fata. In Lahore, the Punjab government keeps shutting down schools which in the government’s view have not made adequate security arrangements. In Karachi, many schools ignored the government’s directive to reopen on Monday, choosing instead to wait until they have the security cover in place that they feel they need under the circumstances.
This, while there is little sense of newsworthiness attached to what’s happening in our cities, even when buildings and installations are not being attacked or security personnel made hostage. The media must share some blame for this state of apathy. Why is the war on terror, which has now come to our doorstep, not the primary concern of the prime time talk shows?
Instead, popular hosts keep inviting politicians to wash their dirty linen in public. Is it not the people’s war that is being fought today? Won’t the people of Pakistan be the biggest losers if we fail to win this war that is aimed at annihilating our diverse cultural norms and the social value system?
Yet, it’s just the number of casualties every day that now seem only to casually make the headlines; the media’s mainstay remains internecine party politics which seem to have little to do with the bigger reality marred by fear and depression gripping the whole nation. There are thousands more families that have been displaced by the ongoing military action in South Waziristan, and nobody talks about them. Millions of parents with school-going children have lost their sleep, and there’s little mention of the fear gripping the people in the face of the threat posed to everyday life in our cities.
The failings are staggering, and dangerously enough, they will be seen by many as the failure of democracy yet again. We are at war, finally seeking freedom from the forces of regression and a medieval, extremist way of thinking, and there is enough freedom of speech in this country to voice disgust and repulsion against this mindset, if only one would. The obtaining security situation has left no one untouched. Yet, surprisingly nobody comes forward to voice that sentiment of the silent majority.
The people want to go back to their mundane routines. Youngsters want to go out to the parks, to the beach, to bowl, to eat out. Women want to go shopping unescorted, and men want to go about their daily chores without worrying about families left at home. This is not happening anymore. People look tired and depressed; while many count their blessings that they are safe, some have had close encounters with terrorism; relatives, friends and acquaintances have been killed and injured, or had to leave their homes.
There’s little sense of an imminent end to the mayhem rattling the people’s minds. The citizens want their sense of security restored. They look to their leaders in askance for at least some soothsaying at this time of uncertainty and turmoil. What they get to hear instead is bickering and mudslinging.
Both the government and the opposition leaders need to come out to voice the people’s concerns and give them hope. They need to own the war being fought against the anti-people forces in Fata, and in our cities – as Wednesday’s attack on a women’s market makes amply clear.

http://blog.dawn.com:91/dblog/2009/1...r-way-of-life/

sheyn

Marasi_Dee

Very well said. Slowly we are starting to see the real enemy. And it is sitting right before our eyes in their luxury rented houses in ISD which are no-go areas for our police!

There is a new pattern of bombings/attacks which is definitely not Taliban! Whereas TTP in the north is being trained/armed/financed jointly by some hostile govts. this new type of terrorists, which is the most brutal to date is being prepared in the training centers, run in the heart of Pakistan. In the capital!

We can fight this menace only with a very strong patriotism and self respect!

As Faiz said:

Mitt Jaye ga yay Mulk to tum baat karo gay
Mukhlis ho to awaz utha kiu nahi daitay


Pakistan Zindabad, our lives for our motherland! These terrorists will never ever succeed Insha Allah!

happyheart

Never will the terrorist succeed
few rotten apples cannot spoil it for the 180 million people
the battle will be hard and long but the victory will be for the Pakistani people.

X2

shyen

because these taliban types were allowed to do their own thing..they had no reason to clash with anyone, as they are being pressed they are lashing out against anyone and everyone and have shown their true colours which many of us were saying was the case for ages.

Even if the most benefit of conspiracies doubt is given to them, at minimum they are mercenaries and pawns doing this for someone else, still abusing the name and principles of faith. so whether we believe in conspiracy theories or that these ppl are behind this solo, it does not change the fact that they must be stopped with full force.

sheyn

PatriotX

well said X2.

agree with the author of the article, the only reason our schools and bazaars full of women and children are being attacked is because they are attacking our way of life, they have declared war on Pakistan and everything it stands for!

its about time that zardari puts on a sherwani, sits next to the national flag and addresses the nation, to at least acknowledge this mayhem, to re-assure people that there is someone at the helm of this seemingly sinking ship !!

khoji

Who do you think is the REAL enemy? Who is the mastermind?

niden

What do you suggest that government should do? Do you have any bright idea? In your views what government of NS, or JI, or IK could have done differently?

Bending over backwards of government started about 3 decades ago when a dictator came through back door and killed the elected PM. The successive governments strengthen that backward bend. That bend had become permanent during 9 years rule of another dictator. If some one tries to straighten it, the tragedy of 1971 will again be repeated. Do you want that?

shardmanny

sheyn, i never knew a gupshup moderator could be a patriot, and especially a mod writing in pink!

you have hit the nail on the head, but people dont want to go down the road of peace because they want to fight terrorists for the west. to please america and they think it improves pakistans image. they dont want to be seen allied too closely with anything that sounds abit 'islamic'

thats exactly why the country is being driven into a civil war.

i didnt want to say this on the peshawar thread but that attack was expected. last week 26 people were blown up a US drone attack on pakistani soil, it was a meeting of tribal elders in bajaur (not where pakistan is fighting.) All tribal experts will tell you that they have immense belief in 'badla'. there was always going to be payback for that, we just didnt know where or how.

pakistans patriots have vanished into thin air

it is a time for solutions but there are no military solutions

khoji

shardmanny:
Peshawar bombblast was not on Americans but on Pakistani women and children.
So keep West out of it.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...peshawar-qs-04
A representative of the shopkeepers’ association said threats had been received in recent days with militants demanding that women be forbidden from going to the market.



This is Pakistan's own war against anti-Islam khariji terrorists.

Anyone who justifies it in anyway is an enemy of Islam and Pakistan.

shardmanny

if you want an explaination of my views, you can see it on youtube 'thori si siyasat imran khan'

but please dont start hating imran khan or me, we do not support sectarianism. this is a major issue which has moral implications. if you dont believe 9/11 official story then you shouldnt be supporting this war

khoji

Oh, so you can't explain your own views? You need Imran Playboy for this simple task?

If you missed Dawn's link about the reason behind this khariji blast then I can paste it again.
This blast was against Islam and Pakistan. It was not against West or America.

These khawarij started their war with the aim to occupy the world. It is not about West or America, but their own occupation and terrorism.

If you want to see the mastermind and 'real enemy' then see my signature. The enemy is people who finance and support this terrorism against Islam. These filthy terrorists are GHADDAR of Pakistan and Islam.

shardmanny

i'll tell you what you can support this holy war of yours

i can see what you've already achieved

khoji

I can also see what you guys have achieved today. [...] killed more than 100 Muslims and Pakistani women and children.

Ghazab khuda ka. Innocent people are getting killed, and some people still are justifying the monsters who are doing it?! Just unbelievable.

shardmanny

^
civil war not in pakistans interests, got it

bigdaddy

Shardmanny, So in your opinion, Peshawar blast is a payback by pushtoons for drone attacks??

I can gaurantee you the folks killed in Peshawar were also majority pushtoons. This happened in Peshawar not Lahore or Islamabad. A blast in any big city of Pakistan will also most likely kill pushtoons along with other ethinicities.

Imran Khan is wrong if he thinks this is somehow a war on pushtoons.

khoji

Drama Queen? People are getting killed, and you think anyone condemning these ghaddar kharijis is a drama queen?
Do you know more than 100 people were blown up by these munafiqeen in a single day?
Instead of condemning those terrorists, you are trying to justify their anti-Islam ghadr against Pakistan?

shardmanny

an attack was expected. but i dont know for sure if this was it, no
ttp will attack peshawar, some of these people are so violent nowadays they will attack their own people!

he doesnt. he thinks its an unnnecesary war. so do i but my views are mine alone though.

shardmanny

fuf it i give up,

you guys want blood

they want blood

blood is what you'll get