Daily Times

Sir: In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare said, “Cowards die many times before their death, the valiant never taste of death but once.” This holds true for the two proud sons of Pakistan who sacrificed their lives to accomplish their mission. Atizaz Hasan, a young student of grade nine, confronted a suicide bomber and stopped him from entering the school. Hundreds of students were gathered at that time for the morning assembly. The other valiant son of the soil was the most respected and feared police officer, Chaudhry Aslam. He was blown apart on his way to office in Karachi. Taliban proudly claimed the responsibility for this cowardly act to punish a police officer who had given them a run for their life.

For how long will young students like Aitzaz and brave police officers like Aslam keep sacrificing their lives? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel? No, indeed. Will the medals of bravery given to the martyred change anything on the ground? Again, no.

Nothing will change until we open our eyes and identify the enemy. These people use hate-based religious and sectarian ideologies to perpetuate a never ending war in Pakistan. Their goals are clear: they want to take over Pakistan to establish their own brand of Islam.

It is an ideological war with the forces of evil. Sadly enough Pakistan is losing this war for the lack of clear security policy and determination to deal with these enemies. The sooner the country gets out of this mess the better.

MASOOD KHAN

Jubail,

Saudi Arabia