Attack on military targets
September 21st, 2012
Over the last year, there has been a definite shift in the strategy of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Instead of carrying out massive attacks in large cities where hundreds of helpless civilians are the chief targets, the militants are now concentrating on military targets. Thus, we see attacks like the ones on the Kamra air base and the PNS Mehran, which are meant to destabilise the chief foe of the militants. This has now been followed by an attack on a PAF van in Peshawar, which killed eight people and injured 25 others. There are some who may be tempted to heave a sigh of relief that the TTP are at least not targeting civilians in urban centres the way they used to or to assume that their changed focus is a sign of weakness. Believing either proposition is a mistake.
The Taliban may have been slightly weakened by military operations but not only do they remain a potent force, they may also have become a more tactically astute one. Right now, the only threat they face to their power in the tribal areas is the possibility of a military operation in North Waziristan. By hitting the military hard and exposing its security weaknesses, the TTP is trying to warn the army off. The militants are essentially saying that if the military does attack them in North Waziristan, then such attacks will intensify and expose even more problems for sensitive military installations. It is up to the military now to call the TTP’s bluff and go ahead with the proposed North Waziristan operation. There is only one good way for the army to stop the TTP from attacking it and that is by defeating it completely.
The attack on the PAF van also raises once again the uncomfortable possibility of insider help. It is an open secret that there are some in the lower ranks of the military who may be sympathetic to the militant cause so the possibility that the TTP is being fed information from the inside cannot be discounted. The only way to tackle this is by first severely punishing those who have militant links and simultaneously carrying out a massive indoctrination programme, similar to the de-radicalisation one used on ex-militants, to prevent a shifting of loyalties because we cannot afford to lose this battle.
The march of death
September 21st, 2012
With each passing day, the death toll in Karachi rises steadily. It is hard to explain who is behind the killings or why the victims were the ones chosen. It appears that ethnic, sectarian, criminal and political motives may all be involved. The killings take place sporadically with people falling prey in various pockets across the city. In most instances, gunmen driving past on motorcycles are responsible while occasionally, other methods are used. Over the past week, there have been more deaths resulting from the unrest, raising the total even higher.
According to a statement by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, at least 800 people have been killed so far this year. Other accounts suggest the number has already crossed the 1,000 mark. These are alarming numbers, fit to paralyse the citizenry. So far, despite the many statements we have heard form Interior Minister Rehman Malik and others in the government, there have been few arrests and little success has been achieved in tracking down those behind the murders. This does not carry much hope for the future.
The law-enforcement authorities and district administration need to improve their methods as this is the easier part of the task. What is more demanding is the need to work out a policy for Karachi, which incorporates all the diverse problems it faces. Only if we understand these fully and acknowledge that they exist can there be any hope of bringing the killings to an end. Till then, they will continue on a virtually daily basis as is happening now.
A solution can only be found with the participation of all the political parties that wield influence in Karachi. Without their full cooperation and support, it will be difficult to initiate a process that will lead to some consensual effort to change this fast-becoming reality of daily violence and death in a major city of the country.
Wasted potential
September 21st, 2012
Earlier this month, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child released a report titled, “The State of Pakistan’s Children Report 2011”, which stated that 25 million children in Pakistan are out of school — the second highest rate in the world — while seven million children have not even received primary schooling. Several dismal statistics appeared citing reasons why so many of Pakistan’s children are out of school, leading to the overall theme that a disturbed lifestyle negatively impacts school participation. Militant destruction continues to cause disturbance while minority children have the lowest enrolment rates due to security concerns. In 2010, ten Ahmadi students and one teacher were expelled from a school in Hafizabad because of their religious leanings. Children are also missing out on school due to a lack of teachers and learning materials or due to damaged buildings following natural disasters.
While one cannot blame parents for their apprehensions about sending children to school due to security reasons, they must realise the benefits of education — as should parents who send their children to work instead of to school. It should partially be the government’s responsibility to help poorer families obtain that education for their children and it should be strictly mandated. Parents must also be made aware about family planning based on socioeconomic capabilities as they must understand that a child’s education will cost money. However, education is the best gift they can give to enable their children to be self-reliant, think independently and make life decisions based on sound reasoning.
There is no doubt that Pakistan’s youth has talent, as we have seen in the past with Arfa Karim, Pakistan’s computer prodigy and Shadab Rasool Abro, a scientist in the making from Khairpur, who won a $250,000 US scholarship for his work on modern biochemical research. The reported statistics are not merely numbers; they are a breadth of wasted potential that could fuel Pakistan’s advancement from a developing country to a First World nation.