Daily Times

The peaceful vigil held at Liberty Roundabout in Lahore on January 4 to commemorate Late Governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassination four years ago was ransacked by hooligans reportedly belonging to “banned organisations”. These violent and uncouth miscreants tore placards away from the vigil attendees and beat a number of them with their batons. They were rabid with hate, representing everything Salmaan Taseer was against: extremism, hate and oppression. If anything, all they managed to do was further harden the resolve of all those of sane mind to beat back the monster of fundamentalism and militancy. So far, the police and government officials are claiming that 35 suspects have been arrested. If that is the case, no time should be wasted in bringing to book all those who displayed their animosity towards a peaceful commemoration; after all, their faces have been caught on camera so nabbing them should not take too much time. If this does not happen, only one question can be asked of the Punjab government: if this country is unable to handle a few baton-wielding vandals who went all out to disrupt a commemoration event, how on earth does it propose to beat back the terrorists who slaughter our children, civilians and law enforcement personnel with high grade weapons and the will to die for their cause? The National Action Plan (NAP) has been pushed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif upon the provinces for implementation and this is really a very first, small step in showing the people that the provincial governments, especially in Punjab, mean to do their bit as far as the NAP is concerned. Given the track record of this government, in which the province of Punjab has witnessed the mushrooming growth of groups like the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwat and others, we wait with bated breath to see what will be done, especially when it comes to dealing with all those who dare step in and disrupt so violently what are nothing but peaceful demonstrations.

There is no point in having a countrywide action plan if we cannot clean up such filth. The police were present at the vigil and they failed to lift a finger. Women and media persons were wantonly attacked by the miscreants right in the heart of urban Lahore. How was this allowed to happen? Without the will and determination of the provincial and federal governments to weed out the very entrails of this monster of terrorism and its supporters, there is no point in making loud declarations of having a plan in hand. Target all shades of extremists, from the ones that tear up placards and beat peaceful citizens to the ones that kill our children, and maybe then there will be some sort of hope. *