LAHORE - An anonymous five or six –year-old boy, with eyes closed, was lying down cold under planks of wood on the road, still wearing a warm blue cap and a jacket. Her mother would have thought this winter stuff would keep the tiny soul safe out there. But it was not the winter chill that killed the child rather it was a bomb.
Sorry mother! Your stuff could not ward off the effects of the deadly bomb. If you send your children out next time, better send them in bomb proof suits or better keep them inside. But these bombs kill inside too when they fall from the sky.
The boy lost his life along with others in a series of bomb blasts in Quetta on Thursday - day after World Children’s Day was celebrated.
Yet On Friday night, twin blasts killed nine people and wounded many in Karachi
Though Quetta tragedy would be called a separate incident from the terrorist attacks across the country, but one thing is common in all cases that innocent children, civilians are being killed.
The frequency of such attacks in our country has made us used to them. Yes! We are becoming now almost immune to loss of lives lost in blasts as ‘life restores to normal’ soon after such carnages. Our ‘government’ seems to have lost its sovereignty - especially when it comes to protection of citizens - at the hands of United States and the terrorists who kill in this country at will - the former drones the terrorists and the later settle their account by slaughtering the civilians, giving no chance to peace.
Everything remains unchanged except faces in government. The US continues to drone terrorists - not to mention the civilians causalities in ‘collateral damages’ that ‘will continue to haunt Mr Obama’ but he will never seize to hunt and terrorists will continue to bomb us. Though these bombs tear apart our countrymen almost every day, our government remains shamefully inactive except boasting vainly about peace talks conditional to the US and Taliban’s wills.
The US has failed our government and the government has failed us. One day Washington assures Islamabad to call off the drone campaign and the other day it bombs the ‘high-value’ targets, sabotaging the peace process before it begins. And Mr Nawaz Sharif who was most anxious for premiership to steer the country out of crisis remains busy in foreign trips. What stops him from doing this now? Is he left with no leverage to compel the US to let this country make its decisions independently at least to protect citizens.
Mr prime minister! This is very crucial moment and just basking in the past ‘atomic explosion glory’ will not do sir! We are being bombed from inside out. Take an independent decision once again solely to protect the interest and people of this country as you are custodian of country or you will be remembered as nothing but another disappointment in the history of this nation.