Daily Times

The Peshawar tragedy on December 16, 2014, the date when Pakistan lost its majority wing back in 1971, must be enough to unite the Pakistani nation against the menace of religion-based terrorism, which has so far killed more than 50,000 people. A timely response by the political parties, government and the military came in the form of the All Parties Conference. However, the question of how to eradicate terrorism completely and forever still bothers us.

Of course, the quick response is an effective military offensive against the terrorists without any racial, social, political or strategic discrimination. That is sure to work but for the long term this may not be the right answer. In order to permanently get rid of the menace, the mindset that breeds terrorism needs to be set aright. A number of initiatives with lasting impacts need to be taken.

Frist, the curriculum taught in our schools, colleges and universities not only promotes extremism and religious chauvinism, it also demonises fellow Pakistanis regarding faith and ‘patriotism’. The curriculum is outdated, lacking the ability to meet the challenges of the postmodern world that progresses by leaps and bounds due to a knowledge-based economy. A cursory look at the entire course books taught in our schools, colleges and even universities shows not only the low standard but also the bigotry and ‘us versus them’ narrative. This encourages learners to stand against what does not fit in the particular mindset they develop as a result of the teaching and learning processes embedded in the textbooks. If we really want an end to terrorism we need an overhauling of the curricula and we need to change it according to our most pressing needs: peace and tolerance.

Secondly, the so-called vibrant electronic media needs a self-assessment and regulation on the part of the government. Since many media persons have their education in the backdrop of the curriculum designed by Zia and company, therefore it becomes extremely challenging to fix their ideological sympathies. However, the media houses must be reigned in through legislation that can stop subjective opinions flashed in the charged talk shows. Of course, freedom of expression is a fundamental right but what we see on most such talk shows is neither freedom of expression nor information. The talks on these idiot boxes are also one sided. Analysis will show that most airtime is given to persons who somehow adhere to extreme views. What prompts our media to have hours-long interviews with fanatics like the Lal Masjid burqa fame Maulana Abdul Aziz or the laal topi wala (red cap wearing) Zaid Hamid? I am convinced that no anchorperson of much fanfare will allow a programme on education, violence against minorities or women, yet he or she will happily allow fighting between the members of differing political parties.

Thirdly, the Friday addresses in our mosques need to be monitored closely by the government. It is very rare in our society for the khateeb (preacher) in our mosques to ever mention the real malaise in their addresses. Poverty, ignorance, lack of civic sense, violence, intolerance, lawlessness and so on and so forth never deserve any remark from our clergy in the mosques. What they stress is sectarianism, politics, rituals, ‘otherising’ and conspiracy theories.

Finally, the use of religion, both for ‘national security’ and ‘politics’, must be stopped. The aforesaid measures are actually strategies promoted by the state of Pakistan and its successive governments for national security and politics, virtually making Pakistan a security state against what its founders wished. Since its very creation, Pakistan was wrongly depicted as the ‘fortress’ of Islam. Instead of a nation it was described as a leader of the ummah and this has pushed society to regard every other, particularly the so-called west, as the enemy.

It is now no secret that our military establishment has been rearing the militants as proxies to be used against India or Afghanistan, and has virtually made Pakistan a failing, if not failed, state. Although recent statements by the prime minister and the army chief wherein they resolved to eliminate the Taliban and their ‘facilitators’ irrespective of bad or good are refreshing, they still need to go for a complete paradigm shift. Momentary deviation from the long-held-dear policy of using the jihadi and Taliban outfits will never work. Neither does the short-lasting outrage work without a change in this security thinking.

Unless and until a paradigm shift happens in the security apparatus of Pakistan we will continue mourning for our children, women, soldiers and general public.

The writer is based in Swat where he heads IBT, an independent civil society organisation on education and development. He can be reached at ztorwali@gmail.com