So tired of being so angry for the past few days. I am shocked at how the Swat shooting is being played out in editorials; rather, I think appalled would be a better word. The stance of attack that our intellectuals/opinion makers have taken while writing the op-eds baffles me. No one is channelising their or the nation’s shock and anger to objectively highlight the core issues; no one is asking the right questions.
Firstly, the attack on the schoolgirls was a horrific incident. Yes, the culprits are criminals, terrorists, and in this case, the Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), who happened have taken the responsibility for the attack. Now what? Rather than taking a step back and looking at the whole situation analytically, all I see is emotional hogwash. The whole incident has been brought down to glorifying a 14-year-old’s image and attacking Imran Khan.
I mean seriously, why isn’t anyone asking:
– Why was a child made the symbol of resistance in a war zone? Who are the people who did that and why were the repercussions of giving away her identity not considered? This should be a serious ethical offence.
– When the threats to her life were common knowledge, why did the state fail to protect her? If that region is still under army control and the attack happened a 10 minute walk from the army headquarters, who will be held responsible?
– Where did the attackers disappear? How many check-posts were around the area?
– Why is media generating a general perception that this could be the tipping point for an operation in North Waziristan when it is known that the attack was planned in Kunar, Afghanistan?
– What steps has the government taken to contact the Afghan government for cooperation on this and how do they plan on neutralising the threat residing there?
– What developments have taken place on catching the perpetrators so far?
– Why did Rehman Malik (Interior Minister) give an ambiguous statement casting doubt on the TTP’s responsibility for the attack?
What has actually happened is as a hyper-emotional nation that we are, there has been a media drive focusing on Malala’s persona (she deserves all the accolades but would the most fitting tribute not have been a constructive debate and rational actions?), and glorifying the nation’s pain. Yes, we are all praying that she has a complete recovery soon but the debate around and besides it here should not be ignored. The threat from terrorism has been there since before this little girl could even spell her name. If these girls were unnamed/unknown, would this attack have been any less tragic? Is it fair to put the huge burden of being the face of resistance on a child? This has been followed by campaigns to malign her and this whole incident as a conspiracy. Does a child battling for her life (barely 14) deserve to be accused of such cunningness; and as disturbing as it is, is it not expected when you make someone a public figure?
An irrational debate has ensued where the extremes have made it about either with Malala or the drones. I mean, what is that all about? Can we view these two with mutual exclusivity? Innocents being killed by anyone are condemnable. Are some children more equal than others? Is state sanctioned terrorism a lesser evil? To say that they killed more than drones, well, ‘they’ happen to be criminals; does a state function with the same standards as a terrorist organisation? Most importantly, what are we going to do about ‘them’? Why are different options of tackling this menace not being debated?
And lastly, on directing the entire damn rage towards Imran Khan. How I ask you is he even remotely responsible? Op-eds by Fahd Hussain (whose views I respect) and Feisal Naqvi in two of the national dailies blaming him for cowardice for not naming the TTP (when he did call the attackers ‘terrorist’ after the TTP had claimed responsibility, is that not a stronger statement?). Ayaz Amir calling out hypocrisy while he turns a blind eye on the stance of those he is politically affiliated with. Can these respected men tell me how many people would like Khan to risk their lives due to association to prove his bravery? Ten days ago, Imran Khan driven by his ‘personality’ was being ‘reckless’ risking lives by taking people to Waziristan; now suddenly he is not brave enough? Schizophrenia much? Personal disagreements/anger over his statement aside, I am curious what would have been achieved from it? Fahd Hussain says he is questioning Khan as he is seen as the hope; fair enough…question him but the government’s hopelessness does not exempt it from its responsibilities. Naqvi’s article had one good thing: a detailed explanation of how the TTP and Afghan Taliban cannot be conflated; this done on the premises that Khan amalgamates the two is, at best, a lack of research. For an incident that shook the whole nation, is your biggest concern, at the moment, a man who is not and has never been in power’s choice of terminology? Forget that the state responsible for its citizens safety has not really acknowledged the TTP for it; in fact, Rehman Malik says we would find out who ‘actually, I repeat ‘actually’ did it. By directing all the attack towards Khan, you are refusing to call out the right names.
Going by the general theme of the debate doing the rounds, the logic is: the TTP formed because of Imran Khan; attacked the girls because of him, and the culprits are roaming free because he did not name them. Meanwhile the authorities sit pretty. Blaming Khan for cowardice, besides being a very unfortunate judgment of the man, is completely ignoring the fact that as citizens none of us have a sense of security. We cannot excuse the present authorities from answering some important questions.
For a nation so outraged, it is outrageous that we are content with analysing to death mere words.
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” — Shakespeare.
The writer is a freelance writer and can be reached on Twitter @nidak_