Daily Times

It seems the more tears you shed over the Martyrdom of Haroon Bilour, the deeper the wound gets. The more one tries to console victim’s family, the more agony they feel. The more one musters the courage to spill the beans about the reality in this country, the more you feel afraid.

Despite having massacred thousands of Pakhtuns, these killers’ bloodlust has not been satiated. This isn’t the first time the Bilour family has had to feel this grief. They have shouldered the dead bodies of numerous family members before as well. One would think that the killers would get tired of inflicting atrocities upon them, but it seems they won’t. The Bilour family has fought valiantly against extremists, which led to them being placed on the Taliban hit list.

The masses have to discern the reality of this fight against terrorism. Terrorist outfits always target the ones who want to steer this country in the right direction. They are the enemies of progress and advancement. All they want is social and cultural degeneration. They denounce any progressive movement, and struggle against every liberty that the state’s constitution has bestowed upon its citizens.

This is why the state has to give up archaic policies which have no relevance today. The menace of terrorism can’t be rooted out while we continue to differentiate between good and bad terrorists. This policy needs to be done away with once and for all. Our only hope is to destroy every single terrorist outfit and ‘non-state actor’ operating on our soil.

The Bilour family has a long history of sacrifices in this country’s fight against terrorism. They have been at the forefront of the war against terrorism. It would have been appropriate if the government had given Haroon Bilour a state funeral

Furthermore, following this latest tragedy, the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) should look into his previous decision to deprive people who are vulnerable to terrorist attacks of their security details. These people include the Bilour family, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Martyr Aitzaz Hussain’s family and others. Since these people are on the terrorists’ hit-list, they need full protection from the state authorities. This is the least we can do to reward them for their audacious stance against the enemies of the state.

To conclude, Bilour family has a long history of sacrifices in this country’s fight against terrorism. They have been at the forefront of the war against terrorism. It would have been appropriate if the government had given Haroon Bilour a state funeral.

All that can be done now is to ensure fool proof security for his family members along others who are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Furthermore, once again this attack has highlighted the loopholes in our strategy to fight against terrorists. We need to work out on our deficiencies in dealing with this threat. Until then, common Pakistanis will remain in danger.

The writer can be contacted at asifmahsud44@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, July 13^th 2018.