Our collective shame and some troubling questions

As a Pakistani and a Muslim I am ashamed to see how brutalised we have become that we massacre people in the midst of prayer. The targeting of the Ahmadi places of worship by terrorists claiming to belong to the TTP at a time when this besieged community was in the midst of their Friday prayers is our collective shame and disgrace and is anti-Islam. Islam which teaches brotherhood and tolerance has all but disappeared in spirit and essence from within us and, instead, we are filled with hatred, intolerance and a desire to simply kill all those who may differ from us. As for the Pakistani nation, how far we have sunk from the ideal of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah should be shamefully visible to every sane Pakistani. The Ahmadis like other minorities have been vulnerable targets. They have been the subject of conspiracy theories and all manner of hindrances have been placed in their lives and careers, but not even at the peak of Zias zealousness were their places of worship targeted in this vile and violent manner. What has changed today? Almost two thousand worshippers - women, children and the elderly along with the men and youth - were attacked as they were praying by animals in human garb. How can any of these terrorists even call themselves human let alone Muslims? Yes, we know that the TTP or the Lashkar-I-Jhangvi which now sometimes is sees as the Punjabi Taliban has external links to our enemies and detractors but that can be no excuse for this carnage. Nor can the excuse be the inevitable security lapses and lack of coherence governance that is the hallmark of the state today. It is time we ask ourselves why our fellow Pakistanis fall prey either to foreign lures and influences or to extremist creeds? There can be no shying away from this horrendous act in Lahore and it is time that the Pakistani nation took stock of itself and its leadership and made a determined effort to restore the spirit of tolerance and accommodation that is the essence of Islam and that must be the essence of our nationhood since Pakistan comprises a rich diversity of people - all of whom are equally dedicated and loyal to this land. Until we can embrace Jinnahs spirit of Pakistan, we will continue to suffer shame and agony not only at home but also abroad. Why blame the Americans for the crusade against Islam in one way or another when us Muslims are doing no better to the minorities in our midst? There are also some troubling questions about the Lahore targeting of the two Ahmadi places of worship: First: The timing comes at the peak of US pressure for the Pakistan Army to begin its operations in North Waziristan Agency. Mere coincidence or not, every time the US has wanted the Pakistan military to commence an operation in FATA, there have been such acts of terror prior to the commencement. Second: The incidents happened when Pakistanis were celebrating Youm-i-Takbeer, the anniversary of our going overtly nuclear - something that still is not acceptable to the West and Israel. Third: What is equally relevant is that our Government and our national security managers need to seriously look into how friendly spy agencies from West Asia and the US-UK were allowed to establish direct links to Kashmiri freedom groups based in Pakistan, especially central and south Punjab, during the Bosnia war. But these are simply additional questions that come to mind. They do not detract from the inhumanity and brutality that has crept into the Pakistani psyche and made us intolerant and violent. It is time we stopped being held to ransom by self-proclaimed doyens of our religion and reclaimed the space for the true and tolerant spirit of Islam.