Maybe I am the first person to feel sorry for the terrorists. To me two things are clear, first that they were sincere to their mission and thus carried it out successfully and secondly, they were not fighting for any material gains. For they blew themselves up ending in dust and nothingness. Had they been soldiers of the state, they would have made miracles happen. Had they fought for the children, not against them we would have called them heroes.
After the heinous onslaught the government, along with the vociferous mob, have renewed their determinations to combat and eradicate terrorists (not terrorism). The reviewed approach is based on emotions to placate the bereaved. The nation has almost descended to their level.  New policies have been devised and going to be implemented overnight but we must ask what have we been doing for the last two decades?
The premier lifted the moratorium on death penalty, will we be able to halt the proliferation this way? They are not fighting for material gains. Nor their physical existence can be circumscribed, they are fighting for a ‘cause’. Hence, they are fighting an ideology war. We may succeed in erasing the physical reality, but what will happen to the ‘idea’? We need to launch a counter narrative and to formulate long term policies along with the military blows. This will help us to cleanse the minds.
FATA has no court to interpret the law, let alone law enforcement agencies to implement them. Have there been any university to educate them? Have there been any factory or industry to provide employment opportunities? Have we been announcing five lac rupees for the innocent victims of drone? Have their injuries been viewed through the magnifying cameras of media? To avoid these sinister tragedies in future, we need to enact long term policies and to implement them in letter and spirit. If we have decided to execute them, would not it have a reaction? Are we prepared for the backlash?
KHAIR ULLAH BETTANI, South Waziristan agency, December 23.