“Two college-going sisters were killed after mortar shells hit their house in Darpakhel village in North Waziristan. Local people said that the Amin check post near Miramshah bazaar was attacked by unidentified men. The security forces responded with mortar shelling and some of the shells landed in residential compounds in Darpakhel, damaging nine houses. One shell hit the house of Noor Shah, leaving his twin daughters seriously injured. The girls could not be transported to hospital because the area was under curfew. They succumbed to injuries. Waja Hasan and Wajeeha Hasan were the only children of their parents…Both were also Hafiz-e-Quran,” reported Pazeer Gul from North Waziristan on June 21.
Another news report went deeper: “Noor Shah said his twin daughters were buried in the debris of their house…”All I had were my twin daughters…The girls had taken their FSc exams for second year…Both my daughters wanted to become doctors and serve humanity,” said Shah. Waja and Wajeeha’s mother lost consciousness following the incident. “Her entire world surrounded around her daughters,” her husband said.
I was surprised to read that two college girls were receiving science education in a highly conservative area under the close watch of militants. As we can surely imagine, their parents’ lives revolved around bringing up their two daughters. All the dreams and planning for their future came crashing down with a shell that landed on their roof. Because this incident happened as a result of an ongoing conflict between the security forces and militants, Noor Shah cannot seek justice from anyone. There is no closure to this tragedy for him and his wife.
Thousands of families of political workers, ordinary people, soldiers, policemen and paramilitary personnel are suffering from a seemingly endless tragedy. Within two days of the North Waziristan incident, we have heard multiple news of violence: killing of an MQM MPA along with his son in Karachi; suicide bombing at a funeral gathering in Mardan that killed 37, including a PTI MPA; attack on a Shia mosque and madrassa in Peshawar that killed 15; shooting of 10 foreign tourists and one Pakistani at the base camp of Nanga Parbat in Gilgit-Baltistan. There is no respite from news of violent killings throughout the country, but this does not mean that the survivors move past their loss just as the news cycle moves from one incident to another.
Incidents of violence leave deep scars, especially when there is no recognition of the injustice done to the victims. The political leadership has largely failed to articulate through its words and actions that the violence visited upon the people is unjust and that the state would make all-out efforts to prevent this from happening in future. Yes, the cyclostyled statements of condemnation are issued after each incident, but without concrete action to bring the perpetrators to justice, these statements mean nothing. Instead, some political parties are trying to explain this bloodshed through a bogus narrative that this is a reaction to the drone attacks. Even if we agree, for argument’s sake, that it is a reaction to the drone attacks, how can we justify killing innocent people who had no role in carrying out those strikes? By explaining violence in these terms, these forces are legitimising the acts of indiscriminate violence.
One of the critical roles of politicians is to render complex happenings in simple terms for people to understand. Powerful political narratives are important because those in power can back policies through those narratives. Having thus shaped public opinion, the government has the space to implement difficult policies. If not based on well thought out principles of justice, equality and fundamental human rights, these narratives can create a situation in which people are unable to define right from wrong, justice from injustice, and murder from martyrdom. This is what the religious discourse has done to Pakistan. We have little sense of principles and ethics. Anybody can use the name of Islam to commit the gravest of crimes and get away with it.
Propagated through the state education system, mosques, madrassas, political platforms, a religious discourse sans any ethical basis has deeply permeated all strata of society. Hence we see confusion among members of legislative bodies, other state institutions, media and the general public. It was not a coincidence that returning officers asked electoral candidates to recite Quranic verses during verification of their credentials, or when an MNA belonging to PTI made an impassioned speech on the floor of the National Assembly asking for the release of Mumtaz Qadri, who had murdered Governor Salmaan Taseer instead of protecting him as his job required to do him as the governor’s guard. There are people who think that what the Taliban or sectarian organisations are doing is justified because that is the dominant discourse.
Whatever reasons we give ourselves to justify continuing bloodshed throughout the country, the trauma this has created for thousands of families is very real. The trauma and the social and economic consequences of militancy cannot be wished away by blaming the foreign hand or believing that this was done to protect Islam. The perception of Pakistan abroad is that it is a hotbed of militancy. By targeting foreigners, militants want to isolate Pakistan internationally. Its ultimate price will be paid by us all.
Perhaps talking about ‘post-conflict’ rehabilitation of victims of conflict is premature when the conflict is very much on. This first step is to stop this frenzy. We have voted in this august house with great hopes. We believe people who gather under its roof have differing opinions but have the common objective of serving the country and its people. We believe they will try to understand one another’s point of view, think creatively and craft a comprehensive strategy to fight militancy and reshape extremist attitudes in society. The use of force to take out militants is just a quarter of this job. The more difficult task is disabusing the public of false notions of jihad, religiosity and self-righteousness. Not only the education system (including madrassas), which inculcates such beliefs needs overhauling, the government should watch what is being propagated through the mosques. There should be recognition of the sufferings of the people who lost loved ones, livelihoods, and had to flee their homes. The state should offer a healing touch.
The writer is a freelance journalist based in Washington, DC. She tweets at @ishrats and can be reached at [email protected]