Sir: It is a matter of great pride for Pakistan that one of our daughters was nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts to fight for girls’ education. For the world, she is an icon of peace, bravery and determination but back home her assailants still roam the streets openly, threatening to kill her if she ever attempts to return. They have even threatened to kill her wherever in the world she has taken refuge. The Taliban’s threat has forced Mingora’s administration not to organise any function to commemorate the first anniversary of the attack on her. Pakistani politicians’ pledges and requests to hold peace talks have raised the Taliban’s morale to new heights. They have warned booksellers not to sell her recently released biography, ‘I am Malala’, or they will face dire consequences. Whether we talk about Malala or Dr Abdus Salam, the only Pakistani to have won a Nobel Prize, both suffered exile forced by religious extremists. It is a pity that this mentality is not limited to the uneducated medieval time warriors called the Taliban; it is also found among the educated and intellectual classes.
Maulvi Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid, who led the rebellion against the Pakistani state in 2007, and openly threatened to unleash thousands of suicide bombers, has been cleared of all charges. However, former president Pervez Musharraf has been arrested for ordering Operation Silence against the terrorists who held up hundreds of male and female students as a human shield in Lal Masjid. Again, there is nothing to wonder about — when a counsel of Maulvi Abdul Aziz can be made a judge in the Islamabad High Court, then how can one expect anything good? Malala and her supporters are now quickly becoming a minority in her home country but this dark night will not continue forever.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail,
Saudi Arabia