The Peshawar school massacre is a living nightmare for us. Heart-wrenching. Sorrowful.
There has been enough verbal condemnations flowing in from every corner of the world, many fancy statements and shallow promises have been made. But do we really want to end this wave of menace in our country?
As a nation we have always resorted to cosmetic treatments for cancer like diseases, for a house on fire we try to use spray guns to extinguish fire.
For the first time in many years, showing signs of political maturity Imran Khan has called off his strikes and the D-chowk sit in. Prime Minister Sharif has yet again formed a committee. The ban has been lifted on the unofficial moratorium that Pakistan was observing. There is a deadly sensation in the jails and among the prisoners in the death row. A lot of commotion. But is it all needed to address this issue. The authorities know the answer, and the honest answer is No.
The TTP umbrella has numerous factions working under it. Some of them were good Taliban once and some are bad till date but what about the breeding grounds that are churning out these monsters each day? What about the internationally banned outfits like Jamat-ud-Dawa and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi that are still operating in various parts of Pakistan especially in southern Punjab?
In times when the state is already dealing with a flood of extremist activities Jamat-ud-Dawa organizes a large ijtima in the heart of Punjab, Lahore this very December. Assembles a large number of people and propagate their ideas.
Many of these outfits are not only working under different banners but are free to collect charity as well. With the money trail intact and a freedom to preach whatever they wish to, state has already given these organizations a free hand, adding to the vulnerability of a common Pakistani citizen.
These banned outfits with ever changing names are unfortunately the first ones to reach the disaster hit areas where they not only get access to natives but find them in weakest of their moments. What follows has become a pattern, more sympathizers if not the recruits to their extremist cause in all the remote areas of the country.
The second major issue that has always met with extreme resistance from the right wing political parties is to revise and monitor the curriculum for the seminaries. It has been time and again discussed even in the parliament that these institutions need to be kept under check like other regular educational instructions. But no success so far.
The governments keep succumbing to the threats of backlash from these few but powerful political parties.
Do we actually have any say in regards with the content that is the part of the madrassa curriculum?
The only positive thing that has happened is the registration of seminaries that was initiated during the Musharraf regime that too in the wake of the 9/11. What is the long-term plan to regulate this content? This is what the policy makers should be concerned about instead of letting the far right-wing parties and organizations find sanctuaries in parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well the tribal belts.
The breeding grounds should be closed down. The foreign funding needs to be closely watched. The suspicious activities need to be stopped immediately. The land cannot be used for proxy wars. Our people cannot be exposed to exploitation at the hands of powerful money pouring countries.
If just sending out condemnation messages and forming committees is the best the politicians have to offer then it is better we give up hope on achieving peaceful Pakistan. The decisions should not only be firm but also sincere in their nature. So far the society is living under the false hope of redemption when the whole edifice is rooted in crumbling foundations, the wrong ideologies and ridden by the plague of religious intolerance and extremism inculcated and promoted through the medium above pointed out
The government has to decide what it actually wants. They have to set the direction now. This time we cannot opt for convenience and short term political gains over stability and long term peace. If the state sticks to the erstwhile policy of spreading more chaos then ending the ban on execution would turn out to be as bad an idea as the evil shooting spree of Taliban in the Peshawar school. It would be as mindless and brutal as any other act of terrorism committed by the Taliban, jeopardizing the lives of many who would suffer in the times to come due to the inapt action of the lawmakers and the establishment alike.
The state cannot play the double agent any longer, killing few and saving others, chasing some and hiding the rest.
Geti Ara is a story-teller, journalist and a documentary maker