It was a very tragic event when Malala Yousafzai, a peace harbinger, was brutally shot along with other girls in Swat and is currently in a critical condition undergoing intense treatment in the UK. The Taliban were blatant enough to accept the responsibility for the attack, citing that the 14-year-old girl was a US agent and hence ‘deserved the treatment’. A hugely fallacious theory on the part of the Taliban, but Pakistanis are now sensitised enough to expect any level of cowardice from these militants.
Soon after the attack, the rumour mills started churning various conspiracy theories, again something very common in Pakistan considering the untamed nature of the media and the conservative thinking among some sections of society.
First, the media set all guns blazing on Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (PTI) and its chairman, Imran Khan, who, just a few days before the incident, concluded a peace march towards the FATA region against US drone attacks. Media and the opposition leaders were of the opinion that Khan had indirectly supported the Taliban and al Qaeda by voicing against the drone attacks, and the same militants attacked an innocent child, Malala, who was promoting education for females. The PTI came with the counter-argument that the anti-PTI forces were responsible for this attack in order to bring a bad name to Khan and the party. The premise of the attack by media on Mr Khan was based on faulty foundations, as it was imminent that the only aim of the Amn (peace) March was to highlight the innocent civilian casualties in drone attacks, in which he succeeded as many major world media outlets highlighted the event.
The second, and the most talked upon theory is a possible military operation in North Waziristan. This much-hyped operation, according to media, has long been on the cards with the army waiting for an appropriate incident to launch the offensive. A few self-proclaimed online analysts also started saying that the army may have carried out the attack on Malala in order to provide a ground for their North Waziristan offensive. Again, this theory is nothing more than a raw assumption as the North Waziristan operation is one of the most comlex decisions the army has to take. The terrain and difficulty in judging the region, especially in winter, is something that would take an intensive consultation among the military circles before launching such an offensive. The US, the major ally and donor of Pakistan, has been, time and again, pushing for this offensive in recent months, but the army is still far from committing to the endeavour. In this perspective, if the army is hesitant about an offensive even when the US is pushing, how can a 14-year-old girl be made a reason to carry out the operation?
Here, the general perception of Pakistanis with a narrow mindset is really disappointing as many educated people have started an anti-Malala campaign on the Internet. Many have stared sharing posts and images asking why the army and government stood behind Malala and gave her all the required facilities while ignoring thousands of other girls shot in the past. A few naive fanatics also shared false information against her stating that in one of her interviews to the BBC, she commented that the burqa (veil) reminded her of the Stone Age, whereas a beard reminded her of Firaun (Pharaoh). No such statement has so far been published on BBC with reference to Malala. Nowhere in her diary has she criticised religion; rather, her only dream and aim was to work towards promotion of education for girls in the suppressed regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As pointed out above, a few have also started raising doubts as why the army was in the forefront in taking care of Malala and her treatment. For the army, it had no option but to ensure her treatment as she belonged to the region that was recently subject to an intensive military operation against the Taliban and hence the security forces, currently present in the area, are primarily responsible for local security.
Ironically, Pakistanis have forgotten the numerous accolades Malala won — both on national and international levels. Her efforts at least brought hope for girls of her region who were in the past not allowed to pursue education.
In short, Pakistanis and the media need to realise the fact that whosoever was behind the attack, serious damage has been inflicted on Pakistan, irrespective of the different theories that various analysts are putting forward. The way the electronic media is blasting the event out of proportion is also not doing any good to the country. Complicating the issue and making it a conspiracy theory would not help to uproot militancy. A gravely serious event like the shooting of Malala is a simple wakeup call for Pakistanis to realise the intensity of violence and extremism persisting in our society, coupled with the level of intolerance towards the female gender. We have to unite on the fact that this was an inhumane act that needs to be condemned at every level. Coupled with that, we must also hope that the government, security agencies and policy makers formulate an effective mechanism to counter militancy and avoid such incidents in future.
The writer is working as a research analyst, programme consultant and content editor at the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad along with pursuing his Research Studies in Public Policy from Germany. He can be reached at [email protected], or [email protected].