Dear Readers: Pakistan is under
threat from a minority of radical extremists who have nothing to do with Islam
and everything to do with grabbing state power and nuclear weapons to create
chaos and anarchy in the world. My country has a rich history of music, dance,
poetry, art and literature. All will be lost and more if the Taliban and
al-Qaeda are not confronted decisively by the Pakistani state, army and its
people. This is a letter to Pakistan’s president from an organization called
Concerned Citizens of Pakistan. I hope it will enlighten you.
King Regards,
Zulfiqar Ali Mughal
Dear President Asif Ali Zardari,
We the citizens of Pakistan are angry and dismayed at the abject capitulation of
the state of Pakistan before the Taliban insurgents in Swat. With one stroke of
the pen, you and the Parliament have signed away any real prospects of a stable,
tolerant and progressive Pakistan as envisioned by its founder, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah.
Leaving aside the merits or demerits of the so-called Nizam a Adal Regulation,
we believe that any agreement signed at the point of a gun and under threats
from violent extremists can never lead to a lasting and just peace. It has now
become clear how naive the government has been in thinking that the Taliban
could be contained in Swat.
Since you signed the Regulation, the Taliban have stated that they don’t intend
to lay down their arms, have called into question the legitimacy of the
Parliament and Supreme Court, and declared the intent to impose their own brand
of violent and brutal Sharia law not only in the rest of Pakistan but across the
world! This is proof positive that the real aim of the Taliban is to seize power
through brutal force and intimidation.
We recognize that it was the failure or unwillingness of the Army to carry out
its basic duty of fighting the extremists, which left political forces in the
country with limited options for dealing with the insurgency. We reject the
argument that the Pakistan army did not fight a counter insurgency because it
did not want to kill its own people.
The army and security agencies of the country did not display any such qualms
and reservations when they, under orders of the governments’ of the day, shot
and killed hundreds of Pakistani’s - who were deemed a threat to the state — in
east Pakistan during 1971, the MRD protestors in Sindh in 1984, and Baloch
insurgents over the last 40 years. One is forced to ask the question, are the
lives of some Pakistani’s more precious than others in the eyes of the
establishment of Pakistan?
We realize that the dark clouds of obscurantism hanging over our country are the
direct result of a ‘Jehadi’ mindset within the civil and military establishment,
which has for decades fostered and pandered to religious zealots and regressive
forces in the country.
None of the above, however, absolves you and the government from mobilizing the
state machinery and the people of Pakistan against the existential threat facing
us; the ‘buck stops with you, Mr. President!’
It is incumbent upon you to compel the Pakistan Army to come to the aid of a
constitutionally elected government and enforce the writ of the state in Swat
and other troubled regions of Pakistan.
You must urge the Supreme Court of Pakistan to exercise the full extent of its
authority to safeguard fundamental rights of all citizens including those of
Swat.
The failure of the government to evolve a counter-narrative to the Taliban
propaganda is dereliction of the highest order. The government must immediately
devise and implement a strategy for countering the insidious propaganda by and
in support of the Taliban, which fills newspaper columns and airwaves.
Peace, Mr. President, cannot come by ceding territorial control to armed
insurgents or by agreeing to their illegitimate demands, as has been done in
Swat. Countries that have faced violent insurgencies in the past — Colombia,
Egypt, Algeria — did not succeed in their wars by negotiating from a position of
weakness, or by burying their heads in the sand. These countries employed all
means, including the use of force, to fight those who sought to seize power and
territory through violent means.
Mr. President,
we too must fight the Taliban, who have chosen to fight against the state and
who routinely terrorize and kill innocent Pakistanis. It is incumbent upon you
to mobilize the nation against the courge of the Taliban before it is too late.
History and the people of this country will never forgive you if you fail to
show leadership now.
shall satisfy you.
Hoping,Sir,that you will kindly give me a chance of consideration.
With best wishes,
King Regards,
Mr.Zulfiqar Ali Mughal