Daily Times

The recent military escalation between Pakistan and India has sent a shiver down the spine of many peace-loving people on both sides of the border. However, for the warmongers, it was a kind of thrilling and entertaining experience. The latter are the ones who have neither heard the ear-splitting sound of missiles or the heart-piercing cries of the victims of war. They merely relish the prospect of war while sitting in their comfort zones. This is completely unwise of them.

Nobody can better perceive the importance of peace than Pakistanis as for the last one and a half decades, this nation has seen unabated suicide attacks and bomb blasts. We Pakistanis are fully cognizant of the repercussions of war. It devastates the whole fabric of society. Moreover, economic progress is hampered and society goes backwards rather than progressing towards a better end.

There isn’t any corner of the country which stayed unaffected during the war on terror. Almost all the provinces have seen heartrending incidents, such as the Army Public School attack in Peshawar, the Church attack in Lahore, attacks on lawyers in Quetta and the Safora Goth incident in Karachi. No part of the country has remained safe in the wake of the war against terrorism.

Nobody can better perceive the importance of peace than Pakistanis as for the last one and a half decades, this nation has seen unabated suicide attacks and bomb blasts

The western part of Pakistan, which constitutes the Pashtun belt, has rendered unaccountable sacrifices to combat the menace of terrorism. They accepted displacement from their native places in the hope of peace restoration in their terror-ridden region. Amidst all this, they bore physical and financial losses. But even then they remain steadfast as they hugged rudimentary pain for long-term peace in their region.

Ergo, Pakistanis can be the best teachers for Indians if they want to comprehend the significance of peace, for we have experienced the horrifying scenario of war firsthand. However, now we are done with war and only desire peace. War only brings catastrophe and devours innocents.

In a nutshell, peace should be cherished and longed for. Those who are glorifying war do not desire the best for their states nor do they have any sympathy for their fellow human beings. Thus, all our efforts should be focused on mitigating the intensity between the two nuclear states.

The writer can be contacted at asifmahsud44@yahoo.com

Published in Daily Times, March 10^th 2019.