Terrorism is the biggest threat
to Pakistan’s progress. It roots can be traced back from 1979, when there was an
effort to kick out Russia from Afghanistan. But the problem became severe after
9/11. And now in 2011, it’s become a menace for our motherland. I do not want to
go into detail history of terrorism in Pakistan. But the million dollar question
is: what are the ways to eradicate or to overcome this most dangerous problem.
So that as a result our nation can be brought back to the road of progress in
all fields of life.
The first and foremost things are the unity and commitment. These are very
important to achieve an objective. All stakeholders of the society must need to
unite and become committed to this one agenda…….to eradicate terrorism from
every nook and corner of the country. But after a very bloody war, we still see
some of the stakeholders of the society who are supporting the extremist designs
of the terrorist groups. I do not clearly know what their intensions are. But
one thing is very clear: that is they are working against country’s betterment.
We need to bring back first these people on the right direction using the
process of dialogue.
Parliamentarian can play a very constructive role in this regard. They can use
their influence in the right direction to convince the people of their
constituencies to say “No to all sort of terrorist activities”. They can easily
inculcate in the minds of people the vision of free terrorist society and about
progressive and emerging Pakistan. But it is also a fact that we still did not
see any useful role from these so-called representatives of the people. It is
high time they must come forward to save the future of Pakistan.
Religious leaders in any society can play an effective role in times of crises.
But the case of Pakistan is different regarding war on terror. These influential
leaders were in some respect close to the terrorist organizations and to their
self-professed ideology in the past. But it is the requirement of time that
these leaders must come forward to use their influence in the society against
all type of terrorism. They can play their effective role using mosques,
speeches and writings to guide the ignorant masses of the country. There is
still a large section of the society in Pakistan who prefers to listen these
religious leaders at any cost. So why we are not utilizing the influence and
potentials of these leaders in true sense?
Civil society is another major stakeholder. It is not playing their due role
against war on terror. The close observation of this modern world demands that
in time of crises civil society must come to the forefront to help the state
machinery. But in Pakistan it is still a missing area (war on terror) of civil
society. A mass movement is required to defeat the ideologies of terrorist
organizations. And civil society can lead this mass movement very effectively.
But this should be a collaborative effort from all stakeholders of the society.
Because working alone against this big threat….terrorism can’t bring the desired
results as required.
Education is another very important way to eradicate the root causes of
terrorism. The first step should be to provide uniform system of education to
the masses. This system of education must be free from prejudices and sectarian
violence. It also includes both religious and modern education at equal ratios.
This will help create citizens having a balanced approach towards life. Although
it is a very lengthy process but it is very important. Because we need to clear
the minds of young generation about the extreme designs of terrorist
organizations. (A few days ago a renowned professor has given a lecture on topic
related to terrorism in a university. In question-answer session when he was
asked about who is responsible for terrorism in Pakistan. He refused to give any
comments on this question). So this attitude must be stopped right now.
Good governance is another area which needed more attention in this regard. The
important work in this regard which has been done so far is only to equip
security personnel’s with latest weapons and to increase their salaries, and
compensation in case of casualties. But Policy makers of Pakistan (after
entering into the dangerous war on terror) did not create a suitable mechanism
through which terrorism can effectively be checked. For example, there is no
clear data of people residing in the country. There is no check and balance on
foreigner’s activities in the country. There is no effective way to check cross
border terrorism from Afghanistan and Indian side. There is not sufficient
training mechanism for security personnel’s to counter terrorist organizations
plots. There is still time our intelligence and law and order agencies can start
door to door campaign for checking and registration, and to monitor it
effectively. Also institutional working should be done according to rules and
regulations. This will give a sense to the citizens of the country that
Pakistan’s future largely depends on good governance, and ultimately they will
participate in this process.
Also there is an urgent need for the military to come forward and state
explicitly the present situation regarding war on terror to all citizens of the
country. This strategy will clear the minds of people. Because Pakistan is the
most affected country in the world in war against terrorism.
The role of parents and teachers can’t be denied in times of crises. Because
they are the main architects of nations. But we see no efforts from any side
(nor from them itself) to utilize their full potentials regarding elimination of
terrorism. We are not observing any type of collective efforts within homes,
schools, Colleges and universities against terrorism. It is time that these
builders of nation must come forward to save the country future. After all,
terrorism is our common enemy, and we can’t see a prosperous Pakistan without
eradicating it.
All these major efforts must be initiated at the same time and must be
communicated to all citizens through electronic and print media. This is also
one of the most demanding area for the media to work on. As it is also badly
required from the media to channelize their work in a constructive manner to
inform people how they can beat terrorist designs. After all, united approach
and combined efforts for a good cause can only make a nation stronger and
prosperous in all respects.