Say No To Terrorism

My son is five . He sleeps as I write. I can hear his regular breathing, the smell of his hair and skin gives me comfort that he is well. But there are hundreds of mothers in Pakistan today, who can touch the clothes of their boys but can never hear their breath again. And it was not natural death, painful as it is to bear, but their lives were wrenched away by self righteous beings who lost all semblance of humanity long before they embarked on this unimaginably hideous deed. All day on 16th December,2014, i kept thinking what i would have done if it were my son, my children. perhaps taken up arms to aveng them? Yes I would have. To protect her children in every way possible, even in ways which are impossible.That is the first instinct of a mother. That should be the first instinct of the State too. It should protect its people the way a mother protects her children. We have lived enough in terror. they have sold their rhetoric in the garb of Islam for too long. They have confused and clouded the judgement of two generations, who honestly believe now that they are justified in killing others to get their own way, that it is holy to kill children. Yet terrorism is just a mans way of expressing his hatred for his targets, and for himself, and for cowing others into submission. It is correct to weed out these criminals and punish them, as the government is endeavouring to do right now. This is the way the law works too, criminals know that there will be a reprisal for crime, in the form of an encounter if not through a court of law. But the government must realize that we cannot support the status quo anymore. The powerful few who wreak injustice upon the weak, making them a willing fodder for the terrorist trainers. the FATA agencies which we have failed to bring into the pale of normal Pakistani societies, saying they dont want our laws and are happy with their "ways", but there is a whole generetation of young men and women there who is seething at the injustice and suffocation its society breeds. We cannot ignore it. The State must provide them protection, we must establish justice in this society. We must own our youth, and not let the poor young be " catered to" by the madaris. Why cant we have boarding lodging schools for the poor, rather than a few Danish schools? why cant we give food and clothes to the school going children? they would be happy enough to have a teacher around.when are we going to talk about the violence that our young people have to bear from early age, taking away their innocence, sensitivity and humanity? it is not an easy task. Civilized societies have taken years to achieve these goals and even then such incidents happen. But they are perpetuated by individuals rather than groups.But this is a good time to start. No one can finish that which they have not begun. It is a difficult road. The people at the helm of affairs must be scared of reprisals. But we cannot shirk our collective responsibility any longer. We must take this road. If we do not suffer apologists anymore, if we refuse to tolerate this collectively, there is nothing a band of terrorists can do against a nation determined to eliminate them. It is sad that the political parties did not support the war against terror earlier. But this government has a unique opportunity to act. and act it should, if only to protect the right of each mother in Pakistan to be sure that she hears the breathing of her child.