Pakistan’s internal crisis and the people of Pakistan | Commentary by Narjis Bokhari Ali

Flikr photo by elephantkitty used under a creative Commons license. It is indeed a very grave situation today in the Pak-Afghan region. There are internal and external dimensions to the whole conflict; however, Pakistan has never faced an internal threat of this caliber. Between a corrupt and completely clueless government, a restrained army, and a shocking and violent enemy in the Taliban, the people of Pakistan must rise to this challenge and deal with this menace like never before. The Lawyers Movement has proved that the people power is very strong and it must be made stronger. The media has played an active and vital role in this accomplishment and must now take on an all out war against the Taliban and their likes. No matter what the Pakistani perception of the US might be, one must turn inwards and blame the government, politicians and ourselves for allowing Pakistan to be manipulated, used and for electing and tolerating a corrupt leadership. President Obama today clearly stated that he is confident that the Pakistan army was perfectly capable of taking care of Taliban if they make up their mind. He also stated he firmly believes that there is no threat of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the extremist hands because the Pakistan army will not allow this and is totally capable of handling this issue. He saw the weakness of the government of Pakistan and the lack of public trust as being one of the biggest issues that came in the way of stopping the Taliban insurgency. Indications are that the wakeup call has finally aroused a nation in stupor. The people of Pakistan have started realizing that this forced Islam is not the religion they follow. The Islam in Indo-Pak subcontinent was brought by Sufi saints who used love, music, poetry and humility to spread the word of God. The subcontinent is living proof of a nation deeply affected by the likes of Shahbaz Qalandar, Data Ganj Buksh, Amir Khusro, Mueenuddin Chisti, Baba Farid, Rahman Baba and many more. Sunnis, Shias, Memons, Kutchis, Bohras, all lived peacefully and amalgamated into a harmonious culture in most parts of Pakistan. The rich heritage and culture is one of our nation’s proud possessions.  Good or bad, right or wrong, that is who we are in Pakistan and we as a people are not willing to be dragged into the stone ages. The madrasas must be controlled, basic amenities must be provided to the people of Pakistan by the people of Pakistan, and all extremism must be strictly suppressed. The source of funding and arms must be identified and stopped immediately as this is integral to putting a halt to further breeding of these mindless mad people.  Improving and reforming the education system is a long term plan which must be started immediately, however, the wait may be too long to reverse the events. The time has come to take a decision and the civilian government and the people of Pakistan must stand behind the army to eliminate this alien barbaric enemy once and for all. People who are displaced by military action or who are not willing Taliban supporters must be moved into shelters, given care and steps must be taken to re-habilitate them. The time has passed for dialogue and talks, and the more exposure we get to the Taliban leadership the more convincing it is that there can be no reasoning with a thought process that declares women should be banned from streets like plastic bags have been banned by the government. There can just be no reasoning with those who have brainwashed children between 5-12 years of age that the nirvana of life is to blow-up oneself and others in order to implement their brand of Islamic culture.  A very stern and strict military action must be taken to eradicate any remnants of extremism from all areas in the North of Pakistan and also from within Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan.   If only the Pakistan government stops begging for aid and honestly tries to control the situation there is no reason why things will not improve. So let us figure out what the Pakistani people can do for their country not what other countries can/should do for them.